An Old Fashioned Notion
by Justasmalltowngirl2713
Summary: Sequel to "The Right Partner". It seems like the world is always trying to prevent Steve and Becky from having a normal relationship. When a certain god returns for revenge, will they survive the test of time? Steve/OC
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi guys! I'm so excited to be back writing this sequel to "The Right Partner." Writing that story was such an amazing experience, and I hope I can continue to write something enjoyable for all of you. To returning followers, I welcome you back with all the love I've always had for you, and for new readers, welcome to our family! You can probably get away with reading this story without having read "The Right Partner" first, but I highly recommend starting with that. You guys ready for another story? Let's go!**

I slid my eyes open lazily, stretching my arms out. "Good morning," my favorite voice whispered groggily as my eyes focused on his face. His blonde hair had fallen down across his forehead and his blue eyes were crinkled with sleep.

"Good morning," I said, picking my head up off Steve's chest. "Sleep well?"

The corner of his mouth perked up, a teasing look on his face. "Except for your snoring, which never fails to keep me up." I chuckled, rolling my eyes at him and smacking his chest.

"I don't need your sarcasm this early in the morning," I replied, raising my eyebrows at him mischievously. I rolled off our bed, headed to the bathroom, when Steve grabbed my arm, pulling me back toward him.

"You have to go so soon?" he said, giving me his best pouty face. I chuckled.

"Yes, I do. I have lunch with Pepper and then I have to go into the lab. You're meeting with your trainer, anyway, so get up. Now," I replied, giving him a stern look. He sighed, smirking at me, but relenting to get ready to face the day.

For those of you who don't know, my name's Rebecca Andrews. I'm thirty-one years old and, after being forcefully removed from my previous job as a surgeon by a certain Agent Coulson, am the Chief Medical Director at SHIELD. I've been working there for four years now—I was brought in when a god called Loki came to Earth and tried to take over, which failed, due to my friends, the Avengers. My boyfriend and current housemate was one of them—Captain Steve Rogers. Captain America.

Steve and I have been dating for four years now. It started out pretty slow, because Steve and I were both new to the dating game—Steve had only ever kissed two other women, and I'd had my heart shattered countless times. For a little while, I wasn't sure we would make it—we met under unreal circumstances and worked in a top-secret organization. It was difficult, but we were dedicated to each other, and pulled through. About a year ago, when I had finally decided to move out of Stark Tower and buy an apartment in New York City, I asked Steve if he'd like to move in with me. It took a lot of thought, but he finally agreed, and we bought an apartment just off Times Square—where my former living space had been.

It had been difficult at first. Steve wasn't used to living with another person. We both had to adjust to each other's schedule and habits. It brought out the worst in us sometimes, but relationships all have their flaws—Steve's just happened to be that he liked to leave his sweaty clothes on the laundry room floor for days or would forget to put milk on the shopping list when we ran out.

And yes, the most difficult adjustment was that, contrary to common believe, Steve was still a virgin. I'd tried to get him to budge a couple times, but he wanted to wait until marriage, which I completely respected. But, when you're living together, that can get a little tricky. Especially when you're on your laptop in your bed and your super-gorgeous, super-buff boyfriend walks out of the bathroom with nothing on but a towel. Yeah. I know. But hey, it was Steve's wish, and it was actually incredibly cute that he wanted to wait (well, when he was fully clothed).

I threw on a pair of jeans and a floral blouse, grabbing my purse and keys before I left our room. "Have a good day," Steve said, appearing from the closet and giving me a kiss. "I love you."

I smiled up at him before heading out the door to my car. "Love you too!" I walked out to the parking garage and got in my car, headed to Stark Tower to meet with Pepper.

"Morning, Dr. Andrews," JARVIS said immediately as I walked into the building. "Mrs. Stark is in the penthouse."

"Thanks, JARVIS," I said as I punched the button inside the elevator, immediately shooting up into the building. Pepper and Tony had gotten married about two years ago. After Tony had nearly lost his life getting rid of the bomb during the attack on New York, he actually did mature some, and realized he couldn't keep taking life for granted, so a few weeks later, he asked Pepper to marry him. Steve and I were both in the bridal party and I think it's safe to say that neither of us had ever been to an event that _large. _The entire wedding was shown on TV and the reception was held in Central Park with thousands of people present. Oh, and I nearly forgot!—

"Hurry up and get over here, I can't reach the plates!" Pepper shouted and I rolled my eyes at her, chuckling.

"You shouldn't be up, you're supposed to be resting!" I yelled in reply, standing on my tiptoes in her kitchen and pulling down two plates. I looked over at the counter, and saw the array of food she had ordered—Chinese, a pizza, some Mexican food, and a McDonald's bag. "What were you craving today?"

Pepper took a seat at one of the stools and looked over the selection. _"Everything." _She reached for a slice of pizza and a taquito at the same time and started shoving it down her throat. "I'm pregnant, I do what I want."

I sat down next to her, reaching for the pork-fried rice. I poked her rather large belly and laughed at the death glare she sent me. "Oh, come on. You're almost done. Two more months."

She took a bite of her pizza, a french fry in her other hand. "He's an _animal. _I eat so much, and yet I never get to feel full. He just eats it _all_. God damn, boy, I'm frigging bringing you into the world, you can share some of the food!"

I chuckled at her as she continued to devour everything in front of us. "Have you guys decided on a name?"

She rolled her eyes, stuffing a forkful of rice into her mouth. "Tony keeps pretending like he doesn't care, and won't say anything, but I know what he wants to name him. I was already on planning naming him that, but I haven't told him."

I looked at her in confusion. "What is it?"

Pepper shook her head, her mouth full. "We're not telling people until he's born. We want it to be a surprise."

"You can't even tell me? Your best friend?" I looked at her, my puppy dog pout on my face. She chuckled at me and shook her head, her hand covering her mouth as she tried to chew.

"Who said you were my best friend?" she replied with a smirk, and I rolled my eyes at her, continuing to eat.

"So, Tony made me _swear_ not to tell you…but I'm gonna tell you anyway. But you have to act like you don't know—and _I never told you this. _Even if you get caught, don't rat me out. I'll take my pregnant wrath out on you," Pepper said, actually pushing her lunch away and look at me with a serious look.

"What is it?" I asked, getting nervous.

"Well, as you know, Steve was here yesterday and was talking with Tony, and…he asked Tony for some advice." A small smile spread across her face, making me even more anxious.

"About…?"

Pepper sighed happily and reached out to touch my shoulder. "About getting engaged."

I felt my jaw drop as a shock went through my body. Holy shit. "Seriously?"

Pepper nodded, nearly jumping on her chair. "He was asking Tony if he thought you two were ready for it. Heh, he even asked him how people in this time period ask a girl to marry them. It was so sweet. He's going to ask you to marry him, Becky." Her smile suddenly fell and she reached out her hands defensively. "If you didn't want me to tell you, I'm sorry, I just thought you should have some heads up—"

I waved my hand at her, my head still foggy. "No, I'm happy you did. I'm happy I'm having this reaction in front of _you_ instead of him. I wouldn't have been ready."

Pep tilted her head to the side, looking at me with concern. "What do you think?"

I furrowed my eyebrows, deep in thought. "I don't know. I mean, I've obviously thought about spending the rest of my life with him. I just…it's such a big commitment. I love Steve, and I trust that he won't hurt me-it's just…kinda scary. It's a big deal."

Pepper smiled softly at me, reaching out to push my hair back. "You can do it, Beck. He loves you so much; he'd never hurt you. It's not just scary for you—he's probably scared shitless, too. But you two will work it out. You always do."

I smiled up at her, reassuringly, and folded my hands. Steve and I…getting married? Pep was right. Everything would turn out ok. A smile slowly started to spread across my face as I looked up at her, the happiness I knew I would feel finally spilling over. "I'm gonna marry Steve," I said, not believing the words. My whole body tensed as I felt excitement spread through me, and I wrapped my arms around Pepper, nearly squealing. She laughed at me and we continued to eat our lunch, talking about a wedding that was, hopefully, soon to come.

We finished eating and, after helping Pepper clean up, I went down the elevator to the lab I worked at with Dr. Bruce Banner. Bruce had made the permanent move to New York City shortly after the Avengers first appearance. He and I had become very close in the past few years—we worked together nearly everyday. I ran the hospital in both Stark Tower and, when necessary, over at the SHIELD headquarters. Bruce conducted most of the research into different injuries and powers, so we worked side by side. Lately, he had been doing research on me to see the full capabilities of my healing power. I had been curious for years to see if there were still things I didn't know about it—it was never something I put too much thought into. Recently, I had just become curious, and had asked Bruce if he could look into it.

"Well, well, well, look who finally decided to show up," Bruce said as I walked through the door. The entire room was encased in clear glass walls that also doubled as computers. On the one wall, Bruce had up several different screens all displaying the results of the latest test he had conducted on me.

"Morning to you, too," I retorted, putting my purse down on one of the tables cluttered with different papers and tablets.

"Actually, it's afternoon," he replied, smirking at me over his shoulder. I rolled my eyes at him and walked up beside him to look at the results.

"What's all this mean?" I asked.

He pointed to one image of my brain. "You see this little pocket, right here?" He pointed towards the front of my brain, where a tiny little bubble was visible. "I think that's where it's coming from. Your power, I mean. Since it's in your brain, it's attached to all your nerves. Inside that little pocket, it's like…some sort of energy. Something I've never seen before. But upon contact, no matter how slight, it pulses out and actually secretes out of your fingertips, or whatever you're touching the person with. How the energy heals the injury is that it just speeds the healing time—it speeds it up so fast, the damage will heal in seconds."

I nodded, looking over some video footage of a patient I had healed a couple days ago. "Then why can I heal myself? Wouldn't I be immune to the energy if it's already in me?"

Bruce smiled at me. "That's the thing. You actually can't heal yourself with your touch."

I furrowed my eyebrows, shaking my head. "I do it all the time."

Bruce shook his head, pointing to another image. "You heal yourself _naturally. _You don't have to touch it. It just heals anyway. You've just always touched the wound immediately, so you wouldn't have noticed—but it would heal by itself. You know how most people wake up with random bruises on them? Well, you've never had any, because they'd just heal on their own."

I raised my eyebrows, nodding at Bruce. "How'd I never notice that?"

Bruce chuckled. "Well, you're not the brightest, Becky." I rolled my eyes at him, smacking his arm, as we got down to business. I had some paperwork to do before I could head home for the day, so I sat down at my desk when Bruce's phone started ringing. He picked it up, putting it on speakerphone.

"Dr. Banner, and I'm presuming Dr. Andrews is with you," a voice I hadn't heard in quite a long time said. Bruce looked over at me, confusion spreading across his face.

"She is," he replied. "What can we do for you?"

"I'm calling everyone into HQ. There's something we need to discuss. I'm afraid the world might need you all again," Director Fury said—and with that, Bruce and I were out of the lab and heading over to SHIELD.

**A/N: This chapter was actually a blast to write. I hope you all enjoyed it. Things are about to get craaaazy. Love you all, and can't wait to start on another adventure with all of you.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Guys, I'm actually chuckling out loud at you all. You never cease to blow my mind. The first chapter's gonna go viral, I swear—you're all blowing up my mailbox. I've gotten over 200 emails about reviews, alerts, and favorites. It's been awesome. I love seeing all the familiar names pop up—you guys are the best. I'm really happy you're all enjoying it—it's really fun to write for this time period in their lives. Love you all.**

Bruce and I walked into the new HQ of SHIELD, just on the edge of Manhattan Island. It was a huge facility, hidden behind rolling hills and nestled just on the water. The building was bustling, people running around like madmen. Bruce and I shoved through the sea of agents to the main conference room, where we found the rest of the team already assembled around a long glass table. Steve stood up as I ran in, out of breath, and gave me a hug, squeezing me a little harder than he regularly would. "What's happened?" I asked, looking around the room as he let go of me. Everyone's faces were masked in confusion until Director Fury walked in, closely flanked by Thor.

"What's Bob the Builder doing back?" Tony asked, breaking the tension in the room. Despite my shock, I looked at him, shaking my head.

"Bob the Builder? Really?"

He narrowed his eyes at me, folding his arms across his chest. "It's been four years, I'm running out of nicknames. Bob the Builder had a hammer. It's close enough."

"Running out of taunts? I thought you were better than this, Tony," I replied, raising my eyebrows.

"That's enough, both of you," Fury demanded, standing at the head of the table, Thor by his side. "We have a problem." He looked over at the Norse god, whose face was drawn tight, his hand rubbing his chin.

"I'd like to say that I'm sorry, before anything else." Thor's deep voice boomed throughout the room as he glanced each of us over. "I've made a horrible mistake—an unforgivable one. I've endangered all of Midgard, but I have every intention of correcting it."

I felt my breath catch in my throat, and I gave Steve's hand a squeeze under the table. "My father, Odin, has been killed," Thor mumbled, his eyes hardened but glued to the floor. "He had been dying for quite some time now, and during his final hours, I had asked my mother if I could be permitted to bring my brother to his bedside, to say a final goodbye to our father."

Thor had always had too much faith in Loki. No matter how often people had tried to convince him of Loki's cruelty, Thor's opinion of him would not budge. He loved Loki unconditionally, and that was his greatest flaw—he couldn't see the evil in Loki because he was blinded by love.

"I have been speaking with Loki nearly everyday since his return to Asgard. He has been kept in a prison cell, but he had convinced me that he would be good again. I believed him—so I brought Loki, unrestrained, to our father. My father began to apologize for the love he had denied Loki during his lifetime, and just before he could pass on peacefully, Loki produced a scepter and murdered him. He created the perfect distraction—my mother, the guards, all of Asgard, myself, we were all too distracted at losing my father that…he got away."

Steve squeezed his eyes shut, breathing in a frustrated sigh. Tony ran his hands over his face, through his hair, as he shook his head. The rest of the team was clearly as irritated and upset as us. The room was extremely tense, but no one said a word.

"There are no words to communicate how apologetic I am," Thor whispered, glancing at us, though no one returned his gaze.

Clint took a deep breath and was the first to speak. "Where is he now?"

"We're not aware," Thor said. "I've had a team in Asgard trying to track him for days now, but nothing has appeared. We believe he's in a realm we are unacquainted with—plotting his next move. I have no doubt he will return to Midgard."

"How are you sure of that?" Bruce asked, taking his glasses off and rubbing his eyes. "He knows we'll be here. We defeated him last time. What makes him think he can do it again?"

"He simply yearns for revenge," Thor replied. "I believe he'll attempt to control Midgard once again, yes, but if it is clear to him that he cannot, he'll settle for merely destroying the Avengers—and everything close to them."

Steve's hand instinctively tightened around mine as he spoke. "So what do we do now?"

Fury stepped forward again, his hands clasped behind his back. "We wait. We attempt to discover Loki's location. Determine what his targets are. Prepare."

I closed my eyes, breathing in through my nose. "Everything had finally settled down. We finally got our own apartment. I'd gotten a normal job. I…I was happy."

"Everything's going to be alright, Beck," Steve said, rubbing circles against the back of my hand. "It'll be over before you know it."

"I'm sorry, Dr. Andrews," Nick Fury said. "But SHIELD will always have to be your top priority."

I nodded, opening my eyes and looking over at Thor. "I don't blame you, you know."

Thor's eyes widened, and I heard Tony scoot back in his chair. "What do you mean, you don't blame him? Thanks to Mr. Optimist over here, the world's in danger again. I have a pregnant wife, a company to run, and now _this?_"

I turned to Stark, my head fuming. "If you think you're too _busy _to save the world, and the rest of us aren't, you've got another thing coming for you, buddy."

Tony rolled his eyes, slamming his fists down on the table. "Please. You work for me. You've probably got some paperwork to do and have to cuddle up to your boyfriend. Don't pretend like you're overworked."

My jaw dropped, and I stood up from my chair. Steve's hand was still clasped in mine and he attempted to pull me back down, but I wouldn't budge. "Don't give me that shit, Tony! You're right, I work for _you—_which means I have to take care of all your shit, while also checking in on SHIELD, and I actually have to run a household—I can't just yell at JARVIS to have someone do the wash, I actually _have to do it. _Just because you're a big fancy CEO _doesn't mean you live a hard life."_

"_Can we cut this out?" _Bruce demanded, calmly but sternly. He moved over beside me, pushing down on my shoulder until I was back in my seat. "We are _not _going to be able to solve _anything _if you two keep going at each other like this. You two are _friends. _Don't let your tempers get in the way and ruin that."

I took a couple breaths to calm myself and looked up at Bruce, who still had his hand on his shoulder. "How are you the master of relaxation? Isn't that ironic?"

Bruce smirked, moving back to the other side of the table to take his seat. "I have to be."

I looked over at Tony, who had his eyes glued to his conjoined hands in front of him. "I'm sorry," I said, pinching the bridge of my nose. "I didn't mean what I said."

Tony looked up at me through his lashes, a surprisingly innocent smirk on his face. "Yeah, you did."

The corner of my mouth twitched up in reply as I rolled my eyes at him. "Maybe a little. But I'm still sorry."

Tony sat back in his chair, propping his feet up on the table and linking his hands behind his head. "Yeah, yeah, enough with the touchy apologies, I don't care. Let's get down to business."

Fury looked around at the table, his eyebrows raised in surprise, though I wasn't sure at what. "You're dismissed, for now. We'll be in touch. First sign of anything suspicious…we'll assemble."

Everyone in the room slowly made their way back out, not even bothering to say anything. It was the first time the entire team had been together in a long time—both Natasha and Clint had been on a variety of minor missions for a year now, but both of them left without saying a single goodbye. Thor had been away in Asgard ever since he had returned with Loki.

Steve was pulling me to the door, put I slipped my hand out of his. "You go, I'll be out in a second," I said, and he looked over at Thor, who was the only other person in the room, and nodded, kissing my forehead.

"Miss Andrews," Thor said, thundering across the room towards me. "Thank you for defending me."

I smiled at him, reaching out to touch his arm. "No need. I understand—he's your brother. It's hard to look past that sometimes. You just want him to be how he used to be so badly, but…"

Thor nodded, solemnly. "Thank you for understanding."

I gave him a grin as I headed toward the door. "You're welcome."

Just as I was about to leave the room, Thor spoke once again. "Miss Andrews…I feel like I should warn you of something."

I turned around, my eyebrows furrowed together. "What's that?"

Thor's eyes narrowed in frustration as he wrung his hands. "My brother, Loki…he asked about you, rather frequently, during his time back in Asgard."

My eyes widened, and I let go of the door handle, turning to face Thor completely. "What do you mean?"

"He questioned me about your healing ability, the extent of it. He was rather…fascinated by it."

A cold shock ran through my body, like ice flowing through my veins. Why did Loki want to know what I was capable of? "What have you told him?"

Thor looked up at me, guiltily. "Everything I am aware of. You heal others by the touch of your hand. You can heal yourself. However, I did also tell him…I told him how you couldn't touch the Tesseract's energy."

I looked around the room, trying to stay calm. Everything would be ok. "It's all right, Thor," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "But thank you for telling me." I walked out of the room, not waiting for the god's reaction, and found Steve waiting for me in the lobby.

"Is everything all right?" he asked, worry lacing his voice. My face must have betrayed me and I looked everywhere but his eyes. "Becky? Becky, what is it?"

"It's nothing, Steve," I said, grabbing his hand and heading for the front door. "Just…worried. About the whole situation. It's nothing."

"Becky, stop," Steve said, pulling me to a stop outside. I could hear the waves hitting the rocks off the cliff, a couple birds chirping nearby—sounds that would usually calm me. But not now. "Becky, everything's going to be ok. I won't let anything happen to you. You know that. This will all be over soon enough, and you and I can go back to our normal lives."

I could feel my hands shaking as I looked over at the water, nodding my head. "How do you know that?"

Steve placed his free hand against my cheek, pulling my face to look at him. "It did last time. Everything turned out ok. You and I, when we're together, we can do anything. When we're together, we can beat anything. Everything will be ok."

I looked up at him and saw the sincerity in his eyes, and almost told him what Thor had told me. It was on the tip of my tongue as he leaned forward to kiss my forehead. His lips stayed there for a second longer than usual, and I squeezed my eyes shut. Though he'd never let it on, I knew Steve was worried. He was always the type to worry—even when I'd go to get a test done by Dr. Banner, he'd always hold me a little too close, kiss me a little too passionately. If I told Steve that Loki had been asking about me…he wouldn't let me come with him. Wherever this war took us, he would keep me locked up, protected—and I couldn't do that. I had to help them—they needed me. So Steve couldn't know. Not just yet.

"I love you," Steve whispered, his face stern, like he was scolding me. I forced a small reassuring smile and met his gaze.

"I know." No. I definitely couldn't tell him just yet.

**A/N: Still loving writing this story. Not gonna lie, I was starting to get bored at the end of The Right Partner, just because it was a lot of fluff. I love getting to write all these different characters. It's a complete blast. I hope you're all still enjoying it. Love you all.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sorry for the wait guys, busy weekend, some crazy stuff happened, had to deal. Hope yours was good. I hope, so far, this story is living up to your expectations. Sequels are hard. It's hard to keep everyone in character and find a storyline that people will still enjoy. I feel like it's not doing as well as you all hoped, which kills me. I hope I can get it up to your standards. Annnd I'd like to give a shoutout to geekypinky for one of the sweetest reviews I've ever gotten—thank you SO MUCH. Love you all.**

"But I don't wanna wake up," I grumbled, reaching up to rub the sleep out of my eyes.

I felt Steve's body shake under my head, a low chuckle coming from his mouth. "Me neither, but you have to go to work."

I sat up, stretching my arms up over my head. "I know, I know. I just hope today's a better day than yesterday." I went to hop off the bed, but Steve snatched my arm, pulling me into his lap.

"You don't need to be worried about Loki," Steve said, petting my hair back. "We'll beat him if he shows up, and then life will go back to normal—you and me, like always."

I bit my lip, thinking over my conversation with Thor the previous day. It had been nagging me ever since and I wanted to tell someone, but it couldn't be Steve. He'd most likely be upset with me because I hadn't told him, but I didn't want him to worry. I shoved the thoughts back down and placed a smirk on my lips. "Always?"

Steve's face paled slightly and he opened his mouth to talk, though he looked deep in thought. He took a deep breath and met my gaze. "Have you ever thought about…you know…the future?"

My smirk became deeper as I saw the perfect opportunity to tease him. "You mean, like, the zombie apocalypse? Flying cars? Things of the such?"

Steve rolled his eyes, pinching my side. "You know what I mean."

I looked off to the side, an inquisitive look gracing my face. "No, sir, I'm afraid I don't know what you're saying."

Steve smiled slightly, a faint blush painting his cheeks. "I meant about us, my dearest pain in the rear."

My jaw fell open dramatically and I scoffed. "Oh, so you wanna talk about a future with me, but you call me a 'pain in the rear'? I don't see how this relationship can go _anywhere _with such crude name calling."

"Would it be so difficult as to just answer the question?" Steve asked, his eyebrows raised, a smirk on his lips.

I smiled, leaning forward to kiss his cheek. "I've thought about it."

Steve quirked an eyebrow. "And?"

I felt my cheeks redden, shaking my head at the fact that we were really having this conversation. "And I like it."

"Like what?"

"You. Me. Us. Forever," I said, the words flying out of my mouth before I could form a real sentence.

Steve kissed my temple and whispered, "Good," in my ear, before pushing me off his lap and walking to the bathroom.

"That's it?" I shouted, now alone in our room.

I could hear the smile in his voice as he replied, "That's it."

I drove over to Stark Tower and went up to my lab to find none other than Tony himself. "Where's Bruce?" I questioned, placing my bag down on the table and moving to stand beside him.

"I gave him the day off, he's been working overtime. I wanted to talk to you," Tony said, closing the screen he was working on and turning to face me.

I furrowed my eyebrows, surprised at the serious tone in his voice. "What is it?"

"What happened with Thor yesterday?"

My eyes widened and I wrung my hands behind my back. "How did you know about that?"

Tony smirked, flinging the pen in his hand over to one of the tables behind my back. "I saw you two stick around, and I _know _you weren't just asking how Ass-whatever was."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "What if I was?"

Tony cocked his head to the side, his smirk growing wider. "Fury made me install JARVIS over at SHIELD. I can ask him what you two chatted about. Having a love affair? I bet with all that thunder, he can make a bed rock."

I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms across my chest. "He was just…warning me."

"About what? God of Mischief got the hots for you?"

I shot him a glare. "This is serious. Loki's been…asking about me."

Tony's eyes widened and he leaned forward on the table. "About what?"

"My ability. What I'm capable of. Thor's told him everything to the last detail—even how I couldn't cure Steve when he was stabbed with one of those Tesseract spears."

Tony clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. "Of course he did, the fucking idiot. Does he understand what kind of danger that puts you—"

"I know. He knows—he didn't think Loki would ever…you know, turn bad again. He has too much faith in him. It was a mistake, but there's nothing we can do about it now," I said, sighing.

"Well, we obviously have to do _something," _Tony replied, giving me an incredulous look. "We'll have to tack on some extra security for you—"

"No!" I shouted, surprised at my outburst. Tony raised his eyebrows. "I mean, you can't. That's exactly why I haven't told Steve—I want to be able to help you. You're not keeping me locked up."

"You haven't told _Steve? _Do you know what he's going to do when he finds out?"

"That's exactly why he _won't _find out. This stays between you and me, Tony. Steve will worry too much, and he's got enough on his mind," I insisted.

Tony smirked. "Oh, you have no idea."

I rocked my head back, raising my eyebrows at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, well, well, look who it is," a feminine voice said. I spun around to find a beautiful girl, probably around the age of twenty-five, with long blonde hair in loose curls and blue eyes. She was wearing denim shorts with a button-up blue shirt, leaning against the doorframe.

"Annie? I wasn't expecting you until tomorrow," Tony said, walking over and giving the girl a hug.

"Fury send the jet over early—wanted me to get to know the team," the woman replied. She looked over Tony's shoulder and saw me, offering me a smile. "And who is this?"

I stepped forward, my hand outstretched, a confident smile on my lips. "I'm Dr. Rebecca Andrews. It's nice to meet you."

The woman left my hand in the air, not even glancing at it. I put it back down to my side awkwardly as she spoke. "Ah, if it isn't Miss America herself. I'm Agent Annamarie Barrett, for SHIELD. Director Fury's brought me on for the Loki investigation."

"Why you, if you don't mind me asking?" I said, becoming wary. The snide smirk on her mouth frightened me.

She sneered in reply with confidence. "I'm a shape shifter and have mastered invisibility. I can basically sneak in anywhere."

I nodded, biting my lower lip. "Ah, I see. That's fascinating." Why was I being so awkward? And why the _hell _was I intimidated? The way she looked around the room—she scrutinized everything, including me. There was an air of arrogance that radiated from her.

"So, how'd a skinny little thing like you manage to snag the Cap? Big guy like that needs someone who can keep up with him. But I hear he's rather fond of you," she said, like a challenge.

"Steve and I are very happy together," I retorted, surprised at her brazen statement. "We have been for four years. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm meeting him for dinner." I grabbed my bag off the table, shooting Tony a stern look, and left the room.

_Who the hell did she think she was?_ How'd I "snag the Cap?" Excuse me? Who says things like that? I was shocked at the fact that Fury would bring on someone like her—he had enough trouble with Tony, and she was only going to double it.

"_Snag the Cap?" _Seriously?

I pulled up to the valet in front of the small restaurant Steve had asked me to meet him at tonight. I stood outside the doors, smoothing my sundress down, and headed in. I asked the hostess if he had put our name in and she informed me that he was already seated. She pointed in the direction our table was and I walked down a little hallway to a quieter section of the place, only to find Steve wringing his hands at a little table set for two.

"Look at this snazzy little set-up," I commented, getting his attention. He immediately stood up, rather clumsily, and offered me a smile.

"You like it?" he asked, looking around.

"It's perfect," I replied, walking forward and kissing him. He pulled out my chair before sitting down across from me. "So what's all this about?"

"What?" Steve said, a devious smirk on his face. His previous embarrassment was fading away by the second. "A guy can't take his gorgeous girlfriend out to dinner?"

"Well, a _guy _can," I commented. "But _Steve, _an attention-shy super soldier, usually does not. Unless he has to."

Steve laughed, shaking his head at me. "Can you not question my motives, just for once? Don't you like surprises?"

I shook my head, my mouth set in a firm line. "No. No I do not."

He chuckled in response, that little smirk coming back. "I guess you'll just have to get used to them, then."

We ate our meal in that fashion, the teasing flowing freely. And yes, I won't deny it—Pepper and I's conversation from a few days ago had crossed my mind rather frequently. Maybe tonight would be the night. But I wouldn't get my hopes up—Steve was the type to have random romantic outbursts. He'd surprise me with flowers, or a bottle of wine and Chinese takeout, things of the sort, but dinner? He didn't like having to go out in public unless it was absolutely necessary. I was always nagging him about it, but he would get embarrassed, and I'd always let it drop.

When we were finished, Steve grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the entrance. I headed towards the valet stand, but he tugged me in the opposite direction. "I have to go get my keys—"

"Wanna go for a walk?" He asked.

I smiled, my eyebrows knitting together. "Dinner _and _a walk? What's gotten into you?"

He shrugged as he led me around the corner. "Figured you'd like it."

I kissed his cheek, smirking. "You'd go out in society for me? You must really love me."

Steve chuckled, shaking his head. "Now, I wouldn't go that far…"

I smacked his arm before looping mine through his, pressing myself into his side. "Love you too." He kissed me on the forehead and walked into Central Park.

"Do you remember the last time we were here?" he asked. It had gotten dark and the park was steadily clearing out. It was quiet except for the crickets chirping and the faint sound of cars in the distance.

"Of course I do. Four years ago," I commented, looking up at him. Just proof that Steve didn't do public outings—we lived around the corner from this park, but it had been four whole years since we were last here.

"You kissed me right over there," he said, pointing to a little area shaded by a tree just a little farther down the sidewalk, "and changed my whole life."

"I did, did I?" I asked, smirking at him. He stopped in the spot he had been indicated and spun he around to face him. He chuckled, shaking his head.

"Yeah, you sure did. The past four years—they've been amazing. You…you're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Becky. I love you more than I ever thought possible. Waking up in this time period—it was meant to happen. I was meant to meet you, Beck. And with things getting a little tense because of this whole investigation, I figured I needed to stop dragging my feet. So, with that said," Steve said, releasing a nervous sigh. A contagious grin tore apart my face as I watched Steve get down on one knee in front of me, in the very spot we had our first kiss, and fish out a black velvety box from his pocket. "Rebecca Elizabeth Andrews, will you do me the honor of becoming Rebecca Elizabeth Rogers, and being my wife?"

I squealed, my hands coming up to cover my mouth in excitement. "Yes! Yes, of course I will! Is that even a question? Yes! Yes! Yes!" Steve laughed, a smile as wide as mine taking over his face. I put my left hand in his as he slipped an old-fashioned style ring on my finger. It was a thin white-gold band that appeared to be braided. It met at the top with one large diamond. It was perfect. Steve stood up, giving me a kiss and spinning me around.

"You. Me. Us. Forever," he whispered, his grin brilliant.

"I love you, too," I replied, giving him one more kiss.

I wrapped my arms around his torso, nearly bouncing down the sidewalk. "It's a replica of my mom's engagement ring," he said once I finally got the squealing down to a minimum. "I lost the actual one before I enlisted for World War II, but I can still picture it perfectly. I drew it out and had the guy make it. I hope that's ok."

I smiled up at him, kissing him for the millionth time in the past hour. "It's perfect. So, so perfect."

"Today's my parent's wedding anniversary," he said, giving my side a squeeze. "I was going to wait until your parent's anniversary to ask you…but I couldn't wait that long." We both laughed, and I shook my head at him.

"Everything was completely perfect—better than I ever imagined it."

"So I did good?" he asked, smirking.

I laughed, nodding my head. "You could say that."

**A/N: Aw guys, I'm gonna cry! I'm actually happy for Becky and Steve, if that makes sense…characters take on a life of their own—I don't decide what they do. They decide. Just like all of us, I've been on a journey with Becky and Steve, and I'm really happy…for my fictional characters. Haha, hope you enjoyed! Love you all.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Guys, I'm really so sorry about the delayed updates. Something's happened in my life, and I've been really busy trying to work things out—but I promise, I won't space out like a lot of author's do. The story will continue to be up to your standards, and I will finish it, you have my word. The updates just might be coming every four or so days, but just know that whenever I can, I'll be working on them. I'm really sorry, but I hope you guys enjoy the chapter.**

I got into the elevator at Stark Tower the next day, still admiring the ring on my left hand. "Good morning, Dr. Andrews," I heard just before I reached my floor. "Congratulations on the engagement."

I chuckled, shaking my head. "You see right through me, JARVIS. How'd you know?"

I swore I could hear the AI smirking. "Captain Rogers informed Mr. Stark of his intentions a few days ago. I only assumed you had agreed."

I grinned. "This would have been rather awkward if I had said no, JARV."

I could tell the robotic voice wanted to laugh. "Indeed, it would have."

You know your life is said when one of your best friends is a robot.

I walked into my lab, shaking my head, to find Bruce already there. "Morning," I yelled across the room as I set my purse down. I walked over to him to see what he was doing and he smirked at me.

"Congratulations, future Mrs. Rogers."

My mouth dropped open. "How does everybody know already? I wanted it to be a surprise!"

Bruce rolled his eyes, closing the screen in front of him and walking over to a table in the center of the room. "I'm pretty sure everybody but Pepper knows. Which, by the way, she won't be happy about."

I chuckled, just imagining her reaction. "Tony will probably rat me out. She's gonna give me _hell."_

Bruce laughed, nodding his head. "So have you met this Annamarie Barrett yet?"

I rolled my eyes, releasing a groan. Bruce raised his eyebrows as I crossed my arms, leaning against the table behind me. "We've met."

"And?"

"She asked me how a 'skinny little thing' like me could 'snag the Cap.'"

Bruce grimaced. "Ooooh. That's bad."

I chuckled, punching his arm. "Yeah, you don't have to tell me twice. Have you met her?"

He nodded, putting his glasses on as he started to read the file in front of him—my file. "She's a little…spicy."

"What happened?"

Bruce smirked, letting out a dry chuckle. "She was…a tad touchy-feely. It was…uncomfortable."

I snorted out a laugh and Bruce shout me a look. "You're as bad with women as Steve. Maybe she liked you."

"I don't see how Steve's bad with women while he is currently _engaged _to my closest friend," Bruce said, picking up my file and walking over to another table with a few monitors on it. "And…I don't know. I don't see how a relationship could work while I'm trying to control the other guy."

I followed him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Bruce, don't be ridiculous. Now, while I don't think Agent Barrett is exactly you're _type, _I don't think having a relationship is out of the question. You keep it under control so well. You'll find someone, I promise."

"Oh, am I interrupting something?" a voice said, coming from the door. Bruce and I both turned to find none other than Agent Barrett herself, smirking as she leaned against the doorframe. "I didn't know you two were so _cozy. _Does the Cap know about this?"

I rolled my eyes, the anger already bubbling up inside me. "Bruce is my best friend. And 'the Cap' and I are happily engaged, thank you," I said, holding up my left hand just to piss her off.

"Hm. I'm not sure your _fiancé _would be so thrilled to see you two like this. I mean, you're both alone in a big empty lab _every single day—"_

"Could you _please _shut up?" Bruce said beside me, looking rather angry. I put a hand on his arm to calm down, but he shook his head. "I'm fine, don't worry."

Barrett stood up straight, rolling her eyes. "Whatever. Fury wants us all at the base in two hours with a suitcase packed with all your necessities. Make it snappy."

I raised my eyebrows, my mouth falling open. "Why? Where are we going?"

She gave me an annoyed look, crossing her arms. "I don't know, but it seems we'll be there for awhile. So pack everything you need." She walked out of the room, sashaying her hips.

"I _hate _her," I said, feeling like a teenager in high school—and _not _in a good way.

Bruce shook his head, grabbing his wallet and keys. "And you thought she was interested in me."

I gave a dry chuckle, snatching my purse and following him out the door. "As your best friend, I would _not _approve. I wouldn't come to your wedding."

At this, Bruce really did laugh, and I joined in. "I'll keep that in mind."

_**(insert cute little page break line that I am incapable of creating because I'm an amateur)**_

I pulled my car into one of the last available parking spots in the lot outside the SHIELD base I had been at just the day before. I started walking to the tunnel that led to the main door when I heard the engine of Steve's bike behind me.

"Do you know what's going on?" he asked as he jogged up beside me, kissing my forehead. I grabbed his hand and led him to the door.

"Not the slightest clue. Are you all packed? How'd you bring it on your bike?"

"Tony's got it—he stopped by, looking for you, because Pepper's having a mood swing or something."

I chuckled. Tony was the worst at dealing with pregnant Pepper. He still liked to make sarcastic comments toward her, but with her hormones raging, she usually took out her wrath on him. That man was as dumb as a stump. You should've seen the time he said she was getting fat. I've never seen a woman so angry.

"So have you told anyone yet?" he asked as we made our way through the lobby, towards the main conference room. His smile was so wide I thought he'd split his face in half. I laughed, leaning into his shoulder.

"Everyone already knows! I wanted it to be a big surprise. Even JARVIS knew. But I heard Pepper doesn't know yet, so…"

"REBECCA. ELIZABETH. ANDREWS."

"Speak of the devil…" Steve whispered, and I turned around to face my doom.

I hadn't told my very pregnant best friend I was engaged. And she clearly was aware.

"WHY. THE. _HELL. _DID. YOU. NOT. TELL. ME." She stormed (as fast as a pregnant lady could walk) through the room towards me, one hand on her stomach, the other on her lower back. Pepper was a skinny girl, so being seven months pregnant left quite an outstanding bump on her little frame.

"I was going to!" I squeaked, squeezing the life out of Steve's hand as I held my left in the air, displaying the ring. "I swear, Pep, I was! It was just late last night, and then I had work this morning—"

"Do you think I _care?" _she snapped. Tony stood a few feet behind her, sliding his pointer finger across his neck in a straight line—signaling that I was dead.

"Pep, you need to calm down, it's not good for the baby—"

Pepper held a hand up, her eyes closed, as she took several deep breaths. "So." She took one final gasp through her mouth, and then slowly made her way over to Steve and I, taking my left hand in hers. "It's a very nice ring. You did good, Steve."

Steve released a sigh I think neither of us knew he was holding and smiled. "Thanks. It's a replica of my mother's."

"That's nice," she said, dropping my hand. "It would've been _nicer _if you had told your best friend _sooner_, but still nice."

"Pepper, honey, why don't we sit you down—" Tony said, walking over and pushing her towards a couch in front of the window.

"Don't touch me," she snapped, shooting him daggers. "I'm perfectly capable of walking myself, thank you." She walked away, gasping for air like a runner. Tony sent me a pleading look.

"_Please. _I'm begging you. Just make this end. I can't take her anymore," he whispered, eyes on Pep, making sure she didn't overhear us.

"Is she like that all the time?" Steve murmured in reply.

Tony's eyes were wide and he nodded. I felt Steve shudder. "We're never having kids."

I laughed, squeezing his hand. "Don't worry, babe, I promise I won't be that bad."

"That's what Pepper said, too," Tony replied, shaking his head. "Just don't do it Steve. If you slip between her thighs, be sure to condomize."

Steve paled, as he usually did when Tony made jokes towards our sex life (which was nonexistent). "Where do you come up with these things?" I nearly shouted, shaking my head at him. His eyes were still glued on Pepper, making sure she didn't release her anger on an innocent passerby.

"They just come to me," he whispered, walking away when Pepper snapped her fingers in the air. Steve looked at the two with wide eyes.

"I promise, I'll never snap my fingers to signal for you," I said, resting a hand on his chest, chuckling.

"You say that now…maybe we could just adopt."

We both laughed as Natasha came out to find us all. "You guys can come in now. Fury's ready for us."

I took a deep breath as Steve squeezed my hand. I was still nervous about the whole ordeal. "Everything will be fine, I promise. When this is all over, we'll plan a wedding. Just remember that."

I smiled up at him as we walked into the conference room. "What do you think about Disney World? I always dreamed of getting married there…"

Steve chuckled, shaking his head. "Whatever you want, sweetheart."

"Sorry to interrupt your wedding plans, but we have some business to attend to," Fury said, his hands on his hips, though he had a light smile on his face. It looked…uncharacteristically odd. "Congrats to both of you." We both smiled as everyone murmured his or her congratulations—even Pepper. The only person who did not was the blonde woman I had grown to despise in the last chair, who yawned.

"I'm sorry to have to call you all back so suddenly, but we'd like to move everyone to the helicarrier for the time being," Fury said, resulting in groans and gasps from his audience.

"With the threat of Loki's coming, I need the team to be in one condensed area where I can reach you all."

"Question," Pepper said, raising her hand. "_Why the hell am I here?"_

"Well, Miss Potts—"

"Really? She's been Mrs. Stark for how long?" Tony spat, crossing his arms. Fury sighed, rolling his one eye.

"We're unaware of how long we're going to need to be here, _Mrs. Stark, _and seeing how far along you are with your pregnancy, we found it best to have you near Tony."

"Really?" Tony shouted, his mouth falling open. "I had the perfect opportunity to get away, and you just bring her along?"

"Excuse me?" Pepper whispered, her tone laced with venom.

"Just kidding!" he shouted, throwing his hands in the air. Beads of sweat were beginning to appear on his forehead. "You know I was kidding, babe, I'd never leave you at a time like this."

"Funny, but I think you just told me—"

"Shut it now, Rogers, or I'll freeze you right back up into the Capsicle you were."

"Thank you, gentleman," Fury interrupted, leaning forward onto the table. "I'd like to leave as soon as possible. Your bags are being transported now. We'll all be leaving within the hour. You'll be alerted. Thank you."

Fury left the room as everyone let the details of what he said sunk in. I sighed, running my hand through my hair. "Well, if it isn't little Miss America."

Oh, _fantastic._

"And you," Agent Barrett said, placing a hand delicately on Steve's soldier, "must be Captain America himself. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said in a voice _much _too sultry to be talking to my fiancé.

"Ma'am," Steve replied, giving what I immediately recognized as a forced smile. He stood up to shake her hand as she grabbed his bicep.

"Now, all this can't be from your little experiment," she said, giving him a coy smile. "You must be working out. You look incredible."

Steve blushed, clearing his throat. "Uh, thank you, ma'am."

"Alright, let's go," I said, standing up and dragging Steve out of the room. Annamarie Barrett waggled her fingers at Steve as I slammed the door shut behind us.

"What the hell was that?" I snapped.

"Beck, c'mon, I was blindsided, I didn't know what to say," he pleaded.

I sighed, looking back into the conference room where Barrett was flipping through some of the files Fury had left in the back of the room. "I know. It's just…I guess I can get a little jealous," I mumbled, not making eye contact with Steve.

I heard him chuckle as he wrapped his arms around my waist. "There's nothing to be jealous of. Don't be ridiculous."

I looked up at him, giving him an annoyed look. "The first time we met, she asked me how I 'snagged the Cap.'" I just couldn't get over that phrase. Snag the Cap. _The nerve._

Steve laughed, rolling his eyes at me. "Alright, I know, she doesn't seem like the easiest person to deal with." He wrapped his arm around the waist and pulled me down the hallway until we were back in the main hallway. "And you didn't 'snag the Cap' anyway."

I raised an eyebrow and he smirked. "You were obviously in love with me before I even knew your name. I think it was—oh damn, what did you say?—my 'chivalric tendencies and dashing good looks'?"

I punched him in the arm as we both laughed. "I hate you."

"Love you, too, sweetheart."

**A/N: Once again, I'm really sorry for the wait. Writing pregnant Pepper is so much fun—and watching Tony squirm? Priceless. Hope you guys enjoyed! Love you all.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Guys, I can't thank you enough for all your support. You've all been amazing. It's been a rough week, but you guys have made it much better. This chapter is actually necessary for the story, but the main message is that life isn't always perfect—not even for Becky and Steve. Hope you guys enjoy it.**

I walked down the hallway with two keycards in my hand, counting out the room numbers aloud. "Twenty-two, twenty-three, ah, twenty-four." Steve stood both our suitcases up by the door as I unlocked it. The room looked exactly the same as the one I had stayed in the last time we were here. It was small, with a queen-sized bed, a large television, and a bathroom.

"I'm going to meet with Tony, but I'll see you later, ok?" Steve said, brushing his hands off on his pants as he came over to give me a kiss. "I love you." He picked up my left hand, smiling at the ring, and kissed it before walking out the door.

"Love you too!" I shouted before grabbing my purse and leaving as well. Natasha had informed me that there was a new lab designed specifically for Bruce and I, so I decided to go check it out.

The door to the lab slid open and I found Bruce poring over a tablet morosely. "What's the matter?"

Bruce's head snapped up, offering me a sad smile. "You might want to come see this."

I walked over to his table, seeing an array of spreadsheets and pictures of what looked like my brain. "Bruce, I may be a doctor, but I have no idea what any of this means."

He gave me the same sad smile, pointing to what seemed to be a picture of cells under a microscope. "These are your blood cells. Now, look at this." Bruce slid the image over, displaying another in its place. The cells were shriveled up and glowing a faint blue. "I tested to see how your cells would react when mixing with the Tesseract energy…" Bruce swallowed, glancing up at me from under his eyelashes. "They all died. Within a half hour."

"So, that means…"

"If you were to ever get any of that stuff in your system, even the smallest amount, you would die. Within a half hour."

I nodded, my eyes glazing over. Something like that wouldn't normally bother me—what were the chances I'd get any of the stuff in me? However, after hearing Loki had been interested in me, I couldn't be sure of that. "I've tested a bunch of different materials, but the Tesseract is the only one your body rejects, and it rejects it _severely. _That's most likely why you couldn't cure Steve that day."

I nodded again, taking in his words, but not really processing them. "Bruce, I need to tell you something."

Bruce's eyes shot up to mine, wide at my suddenness. "What's the matter, Beck?"

I wrung my hands, walking around the table to sit on the stool. I leaned forward on my elbows and looked up at one of my best friends. "I…I spoke with Thor the other day—and he told me something that, uh…well, it's not good. And I may just be blowing this whole thing out of proportion, but…"

"Becky?" Bruce asked, walking around to stand beside me, his arm around my shoulders. He leaned close to mean and whispered, "What is it?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was interrupting something!" a high-pitched voice said, dripping in sarcasm. Bruce and I whipped around to find Annamarie Barrett leaning against the doorframe, a smirk on her lips.

"What the hell do you want, Barrett?" Bruce snapped, gritting his teeth. I put a hand on his arm to calm him down, but the woman only smirked wider.

"Oooh, touchy. Don't worry, I'm just leaving, wouldn't want you hulking out. You two go back to canoodling, I won't bother you again." He waggled her fingers at the two of us, strutting out the door.

"Bruce, calm down, it's alright," I said, putting a hand on his shoulder. He took his glasses off, pinching the bridge of his nose, and took a deep breath.

"I know," he breathed out, opening his eyes. "She just gets under my skin.

I gave a humorless chuckle, helping Bruce to a seat. "I know. Me too. And not only is she just _absolutely irritating_, she's got her eyes on Steve."

He shook his head, bumping my shoulder with his. "I wouldn't worry about Steve. He's so dedicated to you; I don't think he'd leave if you made him. You are engaged, after all."

I looked down at my left hand, smiling at the ring. "I know that. Still doesn't mean I like anyone after him."

Bruce chuckled, moving back over to his side of the table. "Now, what was it you were going to tell me?"

My eyes widened, nodding my head. "Oh. That. Um, well," I swallowed, rubbing my hands together. "Thor said that, while he was in prison, Loki…Loki would ask about me. What I'm capable of, with my ability, and all. And…Thor told him everything."

Bruce's eyes widened until they seemed that they'd pop out of his head. "Everything?"

"Everything. Down to the last detail. Even how I couldn't cure Steve that day."

Bruce sighed, taking his glasses off and running his hands over his eyes. "The _idiot. _Does he realize how much—"

"Danger he's put me in, yeah, I got the whole speech from Tony." Bruce placed his head in his hands, shutting his eyes.

"What did Steve say?"

I raised my eyebrows, lacing my fingers together. "I didn't tell Steve."

Bruce met my eyes, his mouth falling open. "What do you mean, you haven't told Steve?"

"I _mean, _I have _not _told Steven Grant Rogers, and _neither will you._" I gave him a hard glare, and his mouth slowly shut.

"This is _stupid. _He deserves to know. What's he going to do when he finds out?"

"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it," I said, standing up and grabbing my purse. "He'll worry too much—he'll lose sight of the mission. He'll lock me up somewhere safe, and I won't be able to help you guys. _That's _why I haven't told Steve. And _you, _Robert Bruce Banner, as my best friend, will _not _tell him." I looked at him hard, his glare cold.

"Becky, this is stupid. And I firmly believe that you should tell him. And I won't stop harassing you to tell him. But I won't tell him." Bruce shook his head at me, the tension in the room thick. "I care about you, Becky. You're my closest friend. I won't let you get hurt—and telling Steve will help keep you safe. But that's something_ you_ need to tell him." I looked at him, nodding my head. He was right, I'd give him that—I _should _tell Steve. I shouldn't be keeping secrets from him. I just—couldn't.

"You deserve better friends than me," I mumbled, half-joking. I could feel tears pricking at the back of my eyes, but I wouldn't let them fall.

Bruce walked around the table, giving me a hug. "Yes, I do," he whispered back, and we both laughed.

"Thanks, Bruce," I said, grabbing my purse and headed toward the door. "I owe you one."

Bruce scoffed, shaking his head. "No kidding."

In the elevator, I looked at the buttons, wondering where to go. I finally hit the floor the gym was on, deciding I needed to unwind with my favorite man.

I walked in to find Steve beating the hell out of a punching bag. His back was to me and I could hear him breathing from here. I'd seen him work out hundreds of times, but this was…different. He usually used this time to think, and whatever he was thinking of now—well, it wasn't making him happy.

"Now what did that punching bag ever do to you?" I asked, causing Steve to jump. He turned around, his face set in a stony look, his eyes meeting mine. They didn't soften—they hardened. "What's the matter?"

Steve scoffed, taking the tape off his hands. "Why don't you tell me?"

My eyes widened, and I dropped my purse next to his gym bag. "What's going on?"

He crossed his arms, standing straight in front of me. He towered over me and gave me a harsh glare. "What's going on between you and Banner?"

My whole body rocked backwards from shock. My mouth fell open, my brows furrowing. "What do you mean, what's going on? He's my best friend, besides Pepper."

Steve began to wring his hands, looking everywhere but my eyes. "I've heard you two are…_close._ Too close, sometimes."

My mouth nearly hit the ground as I took in a slow, deliberate breath. I could tell Steve could feel the anger rolling off me as his eyes snapped to mine, wide. "Don't tell me. Oh, dear _God, _Steve, has that _asshole _been telling you that Bruce and I—"

"I don't know who you're talking about," he spat, his eyes cold.

"Don't _give _me that bullshit, Steve, you know _exactly _who I'm talking about! That _bitch_!"

"So you're admitting there is something going on between you two?" Steve asked, the anger slipping for a second to reveal pain.

"No, dammit! Do you really believe her over me, your _fiancé? _Is this a _joke, _Steve? I thought you _trusted _me! I love you, god dammit! Do you really think I'd _cheat _on you?" I could feel the heat running through my veins and I stepped very close to Steve, even though I was over a head shorter than him.

"Becky, what was I supposed to do? She comes in and tells me—"

"_You were supposed to trust me."_ I grabbed my purse and stormed out of the gym, getting to the elevator and hitting the button for the penthouse. I leaned against the wall, squeezing my eyes shut, as the anger finally left my system and the pain crept in. I hated crying—crying showed weakness, made you look like a child—but I couldn't help it. Steve and I had our fair share of fights, as every couple did—but this one…I mean, he thought I was cheating on him. He believed that Barrett girl over me—and he had just met her. I thought of my last words to Steve before I walked out of the elevator, and felt my stomach clench. How was he supposed to trust me when I hadn't told him about what Thor said?

"Ah, look who it is," I heard a very sarcastic voice said. I cringed, walking out into the family room. "Oh, shit, Beck, I can't deal with another emotional woman right now." Tony stood up, finally seeing my tears, and walked over to me, a drink in his hand.

"Tony, I-I, I'm sorry, is Pepper here?" I blubbered.

He shook his head, his face going hard, and led me over to the couch. "No, she had to go down to DC, but…I'm here."

I scoffed, my tears falling off my lips. "You're not the most compassionate."

Tony put an arm around me, rubbing circles on my shoulder. "I promise, I'll put my ego aside."

I chuckled, leaning my head on his shoulder. "Me and Steve had a fight. A bad one."

"'Bout what?"

I sighed, squeezing my eyes shut. "He thought I was cheating on him," I barely whispered. I felt Tony tense.

"Why the hell would he think that?"

I wrung my hands (a nasty habit I never realized I had) and sighed again. "That Annamarie Barrett girl saw me and Bruce talking in the lab, and as you know, me and him are really close, and she assumed…"

I heard Tony slowly breathe out and he squeezed my shoulder. "I'm sorry, kiddo. Steve actually believed her?"

I could feel the tears begin to spill out again. I couldn't open my mouth, knowing I'd just sob, so I nodded against his shoulder, crying even harder. Tony's hand moved up to stroke my hair. "I'm so sorry, kiddo."

He held me for what seemed like forever and I managed to calm down. Tony, as arrogant as he could be, had become a father figure to me. We butted heads and fought constantly, but underneath his ego was a genuinely good man. This wasn't the first time he had been there for me—he had defended me in arguments I hadn't even known occurred and always took my side, even though it didn't always appear that way. As strange as it sounded, I could always count on Tony Stark.

"You should go talk to him," he whispered, giving me a squeeze.

"I don't know if I can," I whispered, sitting up straight and wiping at my face. "I don't think he really wants to talk to me."

Tony chuckled, standing up from the couch and pulling me with him. "I bet he does. I bet he misses you more than you miss him right now."

I rolled my eyes, giving a soft chuckle. "It's only been a half hour since I saw him, Tony."

"That's a half hour he's been moodily sulking, needing some sexual attention," he replied, a smirk appearing on his lips for the first time today.

"Ah, _there's _the Tony I know," I said, giving him a soft smile. He rolled his eyes at me, pushing me towards the elevator.

"Anyone finds out about this whole exchange, I cut your fiancé's balls off," he replied as the elevator doors open. I laughed, hitting the button for my floor. I had to apologize to Steve.

I could only hope he was feeling forgiving.

**A/N: Sorry to leave you hanging there, guys. I hate it as much as you. So, instead of leaving you all in the dark, I wanted to let you know what's been bothering me—I recently lost someone I was very close to. It's been really hard, and today was his funeral, so it was a rough day. It's all made me realize that life isn't perfect—which I really wanted to cover in this trouble. Even Becky and Steve aren't perfect. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and thank you all for your support during this hard time. I love you all.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey guys, I'm really sorry about the delayed updates still—I feel terrible. I've been feeling a lot better lately, a large part because of all of you—your reviews and messages? Gosh, you are all the sweetest. I was reading another Steve/OC the other day and left a review, and the girl messaged me, basically saying, "You read my story? I'm so honored!" and so on—it was like I was a celebrity. It was seriously the sweetest thing I've ever heard. Made my day 300x better. This chapters gonna be so fluffy, I hope you don't mind. Enjoy, folks.**

I stood with my back against the inside of the elevator, breathing hard. I could hear the thunder out in the distance—how cliché. I grabbed my purse, taking a deep breath, and walked into the building.

I felt like I was taking the walk of shame. I had been debating what to say to Steve the entire drive here. (Ok, so maybe that was only five minutes, but it felt like _forever.) _I had decided that I did have to apologize to Steve for yelling at him, but other than that, I wanted to hear him apologize. I wasn't even angry anymore—just…hurt. Steve had changed a _lot _in the four years we had been together. The blushing boy I first fell in love with was now a strong, confident man—he teased me nearly as much as I teased him, showing he was comfortable with me, but underneath it all…he could still be that naïve idiot.

I sighed, shaking my head, as the elevator doors opened to our floor. I stopped at the end of the hallway, leaning against the wall. I closed my eyes, thinking over that last little detail—if I wanted Steve to trust me, _expected _him to trust me, he had to be able to trust me in return. Which meant that I had to tell him.

It was going to suck, I knew that. Steve would become an overbearing guardian angel—of course, it was sweet he cared that much, but I was independent. I could protect myself, if the time came. Hell, I've been living in New York City for quite some time now. I'd dealt with my fair share of crazies. Knowing Steve, though, I'd be surprised if he'd let me out of his sight for one second—but it had to be done.

I slid my keycard into the door, praying that Steve was in the room. The little screen flashed the SHIELD symbol in a green light, and the door swung open, revealing my fiancé, sitting on the couch, his head in his hands. He must have not heard the door open, because he remained as stoic as possible. He didn't move a muscle. I could hear his stuttered breathing, soft whimpers—oh, dear Jesus, please do not let him be crying. I don't think my heart could take that.

I shut the door behind me as softly as I could and just looked at him. He was wearing khaki pants and a tight blue t-shirt. His muscles were rippling as his body lightly shook. His hair was in disarray, seeing as he probably had run his hand through it a hundred times. He whimpered again, and it was clear—he was crying. My heart tore into a million pieces, and the pain I had been feeling sunk back in. "Steve, please, _please _don't cry," I said, walking over and sitting beside him on the couch. His head snapped up, his cheeks wet, and he reached an arm up to wipe his face.

"Becks, I—"

"Steve, I'm so sorry I yelled at you," I said, reaching up to wipe a lone teardrop from his chin. "God, Steve, I'm so sorry."

His puffy eyes widened, his mouth dropping open. "Becky, why are _you _apologizing? I was such an idiot, to just throw that at you. I never thought you had cheated Becky, I was just—I don't know, goddammit. I was just so nervous, and all these damn years I felt like I hadn't deserved you, and then when Annamarie told me that—it all almost made sense in my head, that some skinny kid from Brooklyn never stood a chance with you." Steve squeezed his eyes shut again, taking in a steady deep breath. I put my hand on his cheek, but he kept his eyes closed.

"Steve," I breathed out, feeling tears prick my eyes. God, we were both suck wrecks. When did this become a cry-fest? "Steve, you gotta listen to me. If you…if you've felt like this _all _this time, why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to go away."

Oh, God. That boy sure knows how to break a girl's heart.

I felt the first tear spill onto my cheek, and I shook my head, closing my eyes as well. "God, Steve, I'm not going _anywhere. _Anywhere." I opened my eyes, seeing that he had done the same and was looking at me. "Haven't you realized that? It's been four _years, _Steve. We're _engaged. _I love you more than anything else in the world. If we're gonna make this work, you have to look at us as equals. We're a team, Steve."

Half of his mouth twitched up into a small smile and he reached forward to take my hand, not meeting my gaze. I noticed the puffiness of his eyes immediately went down—benefits of having a super-healing fiancé. "I wasn't much for self-confidence. Before the change, I mean. I may not look like him, but I'm still the skinny little kid who'd never danced with a woman."

"You've danced with me," I said immediately as his eyes met mine. "You've danced with me _hundreds _of times." Why had I just said that? Random, much? Good job, Becky.

Steve chuckled. "Did you ever look on the inside of your ring?"

I raised my eyebrows, looking down at my left hand. It was almost muscle memory now—I glanced at the ring so much I could picture it perfectly with my eyes closed. But the inside?

I slid off the ring slowly, bringing it up to my eyes. My glance met Steve's briefly, and then I looked down at the words engraved in the gold.

The Right Partner.

I felt my face split in a smile. "I love you so much." Steve laughed, leaning forward to peck my forehead.

"I'm so sorry, Beck. I promise, I'll never doubt you again." Those big blue eyes pored into mine and I smiled lightly, leaning forward to kiss him.

"It's alright, Steve. Just…promise me you'll trust me, from here on out. You. Me. Us. Forever."

Steve grinned, nodding his head. "Forever."

I pulled back, wringing my hands as I realized what I had to do now. Steve's smile quickly faded, his face filled with concern. "Becky? What's wrong?"

I took a deep breath, folding my hands in my lap. "I have to tell you something, Steve."

He looked frightened as I saw him swallow, nodding his head. "Alright."

I sighed, not knowing how to tell him the whole story. "Um, well, it's nothing bad—well, it is, but not about you and me. Uh, you see…" I was stuttering like an idiot, trying to see the best way to discuss this. "Um, well I was talking to Thor, and he told me…that, uh—Loki's been asking about me."

You could see Steve stiffen, his whole body locking in position. "What?"

I was starting to talk fast, hoping Steve would be able to understand so I wouldn't have to repeat it. "Apparently he's been wanting to know about my ability, aaaaaand Thor's been tellin' him 'erything and ." I took a deep breath, nodding my head as the words flew out of my mouth. "Yeah."

Steve's mouth opened, shut, opened again as he furrowed his eyebrows, then shut again. "When did you find out about this?" he asked, very slowly. His whole body was frozen solid, extremely tense.

"The day Fury originally called us all back together," I mumbled, looking down at my hands.

"And you're just telling me now?" He looked me in the eye, his expression not angry, but deadly serious. I simply nodded, gulping.

Steve closed his eyes in frustration, looking like he was deep in thought. I reached out a hand to his knee. "Steve, I didn't want to worry you."

"Do you really think it would have been better if I didn't know?" His voice was calm and steady, but clearly frustrated. "I'm glad you told me, Beck, but I wish you had told me sooner. I…what if something had happened to you, and Tony or Bruce told me?"

I swallowed, nodding my head. I felt like my father was reprimanding me. "That would've been bad."

Steve gave a chuckle, but there was no humor it. "Yeah, it would've been bad. You gotta tell me these things, sweetheart. How am I supposed to protect you if you don't?"

"But that's the thing, Steve!" I shouted, surprised at myself for the sudden outburst. I leaned forward on my knees, shaking my head at him. "You don't always _have _to protect me. I shouldn't be some burden. I know how to take care of myself."

"Becks, you know—"

"Don't 'Becks' me," I said, shaking my finger at him. "_That's _why I didn't tell you. You can't cage me up, Steve. I'm part of this team."

"I know you can, Becky, but I need to know you're safe," he replied, leaning forward and taking my hands in his.

"And what, you think I'm okay with you running out fighting some Norse god? No, Steve. But I let you go anyway, rather reluctantly, because it's something you have to do. I have to be down in that hospital wing, looking over you guys and tending to whoever gets hurt. You guys need me."

"I don't care what everyone else needs—_I _need you. And that means you have to be safe," Steve persisted.

I rolled my eyes, squeezing his hands. "Steve, you can't be so childish about this. This is my _job. _You can't keep me from doing it."

"I may not be able to stop you," he said, raising an eyebrow. "But I can make sure you're damn-well protected while you do it."

"Steve," I said, my voice rising as he stood up. "What the hell do you plan on doing?" I stood as well, turning to face him as he walked to the door.

"Gonna go talk with Fury and Tony. See about stepping up protection on the Med Ward."

"Steve!" I shouted, running across the room and standing in front of the door. "Stop it, right now.

"Becky, come on, you know Tony, and even Bruce would agree with me—"

"I don't care, Steven Grant Rogers," I said as he stepped up in front of me. He reached for the door handle, but I swatted his hand.

"Oh, this must be serious. Pulling the middle name card, Rebecca Elizabeth Andrews?" He smirked and I wanted to slap it right off his face.

"There is no mocking me when I'm fighting with you!" I shouted, but even I had to smile. He put his palms against the door on either side of my head, leaning forward so that our noses nearly touched.

"So do you forgive me for everything?" Steve whispered, his eyes nearly falling shut.

I nodded, my breath speeding up. "Completely. Do you forgive me?"

Steve breathed out a laugh, moving forward so that his lips brushed up against mine. "I could never stayed upset with you."

And just before he could kiss me, I heard the boom of an explosion, sending me flying across the room.

**A/N: Sorry for the shortness and the suckiness guys, I think I'm a little delirious, I'm so tired. This chapter didn't come out as well as I had hoped, but it needed to be done, so I could get all of this out of the way. I hope you enjoyed it, and I love you all so much for everything you've done for me—you guys keep me going. Lots of love.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys, apparently the update didn't work for most people, so I reposted the chapter. Sorry if you've gotten the email twice.**

**A/N: I know, I know, you don't even have to say it—it's been far too long, and I'm extremely sorry. "****I swear, if you don't update tomorrow I will fill up a pillowcase with soap bars and somehow beat you with them over the Internet." A reviewer named Ali said that to me, and I think it's safe that it's the best threat I've ever received. ****Things have finally begun to settle back down, but I was just really busy the past week, and I'm sorry for that. I'd also like to tell you that I created a Tumblr blog for this story—it's "the right partner fanfic . tumblr . com" (without the spaces. You can find the link on my profile.) A few of you have already followed, so that's awesome. I hope the rest of you with Tumblr's will as well. So, onto the story.**

I landed with a crash against the coffee table, Steve laying a few feet from me. My back had taken the large part of the fall, so my head was fine. I sat up straight, my back feeling as if it had just gotten run over by a truck, and reached out to my fiancé. "Steve, honey, are you ok?"

He groaned, pushing himself up on his elbows. "I'm fine. You?"

I nodded, putting a hand on my lower back. "Mostly, probably just bruised my back. Why are there no alarms? Was this just some freak accident?"

Before Steve could answer, Bruce came running through the door, jumping over a pile of the now ruined kitchen. He kneeled beside me, checking my pulse, as Fury also came rushing into the room. "What the hell happened?"

Steve raised his eyebrows at the director, looking at me. "We thought you could tell us."

Bruce put a hand to my forehead and then stood up and walked over to Steve, doing the same before checking his pulse. "There's no one attacking, that we know of. It was only in your room—nothing else was hit."

"Was it just some kind of…accident?" I asked, pushing some of Steve's hair out of his eyes.

Before anyone could answer, Tony Stark practically flew through the room, landing at my side. "Are you ok?"

I nodded, wincing as I tried to sit up straighter. "I landed on my back, so it hurts a little—"

Tony cut me off by crawling behind me and lifting the back of my shirt. I gasped, turning my head to shout at him, when instead I yelped out in pain as he touched a particularly sensitive spot. "Bruce, do you have your kit? She's got a couple bad scratches—"

"She does?" Steve asked immediately, pushing Bruce's hands away from him where he was bandaging his hand and crawling over to my side.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Bruce scolded, joining Steve behind me.

"Guys, can we cut it out? I'm fine," I persisted, but to no avail. Bruce was tending to the scrapes on my back while Tony held me still. Steve squeezed my hand, giving me a hard look.

"Why didn't you say anything?" he asked as well, and I gave him a sarcastic look.

"Because if you notice, gentleman," I began as soon as I heard Tony face palm his forehead. "My back's already healed, isn't it? And fancy that, I bet Steve's hand is ok now."

Steve looked down at the gauze around the hand that wasn't holding mine. He slipped his hand away to pull it off, and—what do you know—it was as good as new. "How'd I forget that?" he mumbled. I laughed, looking over my shoulder at the other two idiots behind me.

Bruce looked taken aback, shaking his head. "I'm an idiot."

The stupidity in the room seemed to break the tension as everyone but Fury laughed. He was standing against the far wall, his one eye scanning the room for anything that could have triggered the explosion. "If you're all done joking around now, we have to figure out how this all happened."

Bruce nodded, standing up and wiping his hands on his pants. "It had to have come from the kitchen—the bulk of the destruction is there. Where were you two standing when it hit?"

"The—" I immediately began, and then blushed slightly. "The, uh, we were standing at the door."

Tony smirked knowingly at my blush and I punched his arm. "Say anything and I kill you." He raised his hands up in defense, but the smirk didn't leave his lips.

Bruce smiled and pointed from where the door used to be to us. "It was definitely in the kitchen. Seeing the direction they were flung across the room, it makes sense."

Tony nodded, going to walk in the remains of the cabinets. He began digging around with his hands as Steve stood up, offering me a hand. "Are you alright?" he whispered, looking at me in concern.

"Of course I am, I'm a healer, remember?" I said back, shooting him a smile.

He rolled his eyes at me, grinning before his eyes filled with anxiety again. "Everything's going to be alright."

I smiled, nudging him in the ribs. "I know, I know. Don't worry about me."

He pushed a lock of my, now tangled, dark hair behind my ear. "I always do." He walked over to Tony, helping him look through the rubble for anything that could help us figure out what happened.

"You know, it could've just been the microwave or something, I'm not good with kitchen appliances," I yelled across the room, going to stand beside Bruce. His face fell and he shook his head at me.

"As much as I don't want to believe it, this had to be done on purpose. It was too big of an explosion. I mean, your entire room is destroyed." I looked around, finally taking in the extent of the destruction, and tried to think if I had anything of importance in here. My mind flashed to the things I would normally worry about, like my brothers' old toys and my dad's degree, when I remembered that they had been lost during the attack on New York. I sighed, when it finally clicked in my head.

"The ring," I mumbled. I took off to where our bed used to be and felt slight woozy. My head was spinning and my legs felt weak, but I pushed it aside. I was trying to push the bed frame off the ground so I could reach underneath and get my suitcase. Bruce looked at me strangely before coming over and helping me push it up. I dragged the suitcase, covered in dust and torn to shreds, to an open spot on the floor and ripped it open. A few articles of clothes that I hadn't unpacked were scattered around in it in pieces, but that barely mattered right now. I finally found it, the black velvety box broken in half, but there in the pillow was my mother's wedding ring. "Oh sweet Jesus," I mumbled, pulling it out and slipping it on my ring finger—where, to my surprise, it molded to my engagement ring perfectly. It looked as if it was one ring—the two were made perfectly for each other. I looked up at Steve, who was on his hands and knees digging through destroyed kitchen appliances, and smiled.

"Did he—" Bruce asked, looking over to him as well.

"Sh," I mumbled, putting a hand up to silence him. "It's probably supposed to be a surprise. Don't ruin it for him." Bruce nodded and I slipped the ring into the back pocket of my jeans. I stood up and stumbled, my head spinning. Bruce caught me and was about to question me when I heard Tony gasp.

"Oh shit," Tony yelled, standing up straight with something in his hand. It looked like a scrap of metal, tinted blue. "Everyone get out of here, now! JARVIS, I need you to quarantine this room, _now._"

"When did you install JARVIS—"

"OUT OF THE ROOM, NOW!" Tony screeched, dragging Bruce by the arm as everyone looked around in confusion. Bruce had a grip on my hand, but as I started to run, I felt myself slipping. The last thing I remembered was Steve shouting my name.

* * *

My eyes slipped open and it took me a second to realize where I was. It was my Med Ward—I was lying on a crisp white bed, the steady beeping of a heart monitor beside me. I attempted to sit up, but immediately felt woozy, and laid back down and closed my eyes. "Steve…?" I mumbled, not sure if there was even anyone there to hear me.

Suddenly, voices stopped speaking—I must have written them off as white noise. I heard the heavy pounding of footsteps running across the room before I felt a familiar hand slip into mine. "I'm right here, Becky, I'm right here."

"What happened?" I whispered as I heard a few more sets of footprints coming toward us.

"Becky, look at me," he murmured, so quiet I could barely hear it. The pain and desperation in his voice forced me to open my eyes. He smiled, breathing a sigh of relief. "Becks, I swear to God, you ever scare me like that again—"

"Morning sunshine!" Tony yelled, a grin splitting his face.

I rolled my eyes, which surprisingly took more effort than it should. "Someone want to tell me what happened?" I asked, my voice low and raspy.

"How can you still be a pain in the ass when you're this drained?" Tony asked, poking me in the side. I flinched—it hurt more than it should. Steve shot him a glare, but Tony simply shrugged.

"I was testing to see her reflects, gramps, cool your jets," Tony said, walking over to the screen beside my bed.

"Becky, what's the last thing you remember?" Bruce asked, pulling another screen closer to him, but I couldn't see what was on it.

I closed my eyes, scrunching my eyebrows. "Um…well, after the explosion…and Tony yelled at us to get out…and Steve yelled for me. It's all kinda foggy."

Bruce nodded, tapping something on the screen. "Alright, good, no memory loss. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine Bruce, I'll heal myself like always, you just gotta give me some time. Now what the hell happened?" I pushed myself up again, against Steve's protests, but my head throbbed and I fell back with a thud.

"Becky, you gotta stay still," Steve whispered, rubbing circles on the back of my hand.

"That's the thing, Beck," Bruce said, sitting on the other side of my bed. "You _haven't_ healed yourself. You've been out for two days."

I snapped my eyes open, meeting Bruce's stare. "What the hell are you talking about? Two _days? _Why haven't I healed myself?"

Bruce looked over at Tony, who put a hand on the top of my head. "You see, sweet cheeks," he began, and I gave him a glare, but he just continued. "There was a gas bomb in your room. Do you remember seeing me holding it? How it was blue?"

I nodded, though it made my head pound. "It released that Tesseract energy, just in a gas form." I looked at Bruce, my eyes wide, and he nodded. Steve squeezed my hand.

"Then…shouldn't I be dead?" I whispered, scared to speak the words aloud. Steve sighed, closing his eyes, and I laced my fingers in his.

"That was what I had originally thought," Bruce murmured, not meeting my gaze. "I thought…your pulse was so low, you were barely breathing…and I—I just didn't know. I didn't know how to save you."

I saw Steve's jaw clench, and I reached my other hand out to take Bruce's. He gave me a sad smile and looked over to Tony, who still had a hand on my head.

"He's not giving himself any credit," Tony said, pointing at the doctor. "He was beating himself up, trying to think what you would have done, and then your boyfriend over there—"

"My fiancé," I corrected, mainly because I liked being able to call him that.

"Semantics, he remembered how you used that dialysis machine on him, so we thought we'd give it a shot. It was different, though, because you inhaled it, unlike Cap, so we weren't sure it would even work. Bruce hooked you up to that and an oxygen machine, and together, they got it out of your system fast enough. If we had waited any longer…" Tony stopped, not needing to finish the sentence.

"Well, I'm alright now," I said, squeezing both Bruce and Steve's hands while giving Tony a reassuring smile. "Thank you. All of you. I don't even deserve you guys. When I lost my family…I don't know. I figured I'd always be alone, but here—I got my fiancé," I said, squeezing Steve's hand. "My brother," squeezing Bruce's, "and…my father," I added last, smiling up at Tony. "I love you guys. Thank you for saving me."

"Don't get all mushy on me," Tony said, ruffling my hair and walking towards the door. He turned around, offering me a smile. "But I love you too, kid. I'll be back later."

"When did you become such a good person?" I yelled, but he just gave me the finger and walked out the door. Only Tony.

Bruce stood up, planting a kiss on the crown of my head, and also headed for the door. "I'll give you guys some time. When you're feeling up to it, we gotta talk about everything that's happened, ok? And you're not leaving anytime soon—I gotta make sure you're stable."

I rolled my eyes, waving goodbye. "Anything you say, Dr. Banner."

He smirked. "Love you, too, Beck."

Steve and I were alone in the room, Steve looking down at our joined hands. He had been awfully quiet since I had woken up, except for making sure I stayed still. "Steve? Are you ok?"

He looked up at me, pain written all over his face. "I thought I lost you, Beck. Even Bruce…he thought you were—"

"Well, you don't have to worry about that," I said, reaching my other hand up to his cheek. "I'm ok. I'm going to be fine."

Steve nodded solemnly, staring at our hands again. A sad smile crossed his face and he let out a humorless chuckle. "I think I've cried more in the past few days than I have in my entire life."

Way to rip my heart out, Steve.

"Oh, Steve," I said, my voice breaking. "I promise, I'll never leave you. I promise."

"Never scare me like that again," he demanded, grinning at me.

I chuckled, leaning forward to give him a kiss. "I promise."

"God, I missed that," he said, pecking me on the lips again. "They gave us a new room with ultra-security, apparently, but I haven't really checked it out yet."

"Why?" I asked, confusion written all over my face.

Steve's face started to turn a light shade of pink and it made me smile. As much as I loved Steve, sometimes it was nice to see the shy little boy from before we started dating come out sometimes. "I, uh," he said, reaching a hand up to rub the back of his neck. "I haven't really…left."

My mouth fell open and I looked at him in disbelief. "Steve! It's been two days! You haven't slept in a real bed in _two days? _Have you been eating? I swear to God, Steven, I can't believe you'd be so—"

He cut me off by kissing me again, and my aggravation quickly melted. "I was trying to stay angry at you, you know," I said, giving him a glare.

He smiled and truly laughed for the first time since I had woken up. "I missed you so much."

I mean. I guess he's cute.

**A/N: Oh, Steve. I just love you so much. Hope you guys liked the chapter. Remember, go follow the blog! I've seen a couple of you already and it makes my day. Hopefully I'll be talking to you soon! Love you all.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey guys! Guess who passed her driving test? This girl! Wooh! I promised that anyone on the Tumblr account who wished me good luck would get a dedication (yes, I bribed them. Don't judge. I was desperate.) so I would like to thank geekypinky and that wonderful anon who would not reveal themselves. And of course, AccioVoldemortsNose for siking me up (and just being a good friend, overall.) Well, enough about me, back to the story.**

I stayed in that hospital room for three more days, bored out of my mind. I was a _doctor, _for crying out loud—if anything happened to me, I'd be able to fix it. However, Bruce (nor Steve or Tony, for that matter) would let me out until I was fully healed.

After a long and overly scientific conversation that left Steve looking hopeless, I discovered the reason why I hadn't died during the explosion. Bruce had previously told me that if I were to ever come in contact with anything created from the Tesseract, it would kill me, but he overestimated the severity—since it was in a gas form, thus only breathing in the toxin, I had survived. However, if a large amount of it ever entered my bloodstream…I would not. Bruce and I continued on about the details, but then Annamarie walked into the room, making most of my memory cloudy out of hate.

She had sauntered in while Steve was sitting on the edge of my bed, holding my hand. "Well, well, well," she began, and I rolled my eyes. This seemed to be her customary entrance. "Look who's finally awake. I heard that blast should've killed you."

Steve's hand tightened on mine and I could see him swallow uncomfortably. His mouth opened as if to say something, but Bruce cut in. "Well, it didn't—and that's all that matters."

She rolled her eyes, placing a hand delicately against her hip. "Steve, baby, Natasha's looking for you down in the gym—says you need to get out of here, work out some."

"No, I couldn't possibly—"

"Steve, honey, you should go," I said, cutting him off. I slipped my hand out of his and cupped his cheek. "You've barely left this room since I got here. Go do something normal. I'm fine anyway, Bruce just won't let me leave," I said, shooting my friend a glare. He shrugged his shoulders and walked over to a screen behind my head.

"Becky, it's fine, I'll just wait with you," he insisted, reaching up to grab the hand I had against his face. He kissed the palm and placed it back down at my side.

"Steve, _go. _And besides, I know you're too afraid of Natasha to turn her down," I added with a smirk, earning a smile from Steve.

"Are you sure?"

I nodded, and turned to look over at Annamarie, my smile quickly fading. "You can leave now. He'll be there in a couple minutes."

A smug smile crossed her face, and she sauntered over to us, placing a hand lightly on Steve's shoulder. "I was specifically told to escort him down there."

I set my mouth in a firm line and gripped the collar of Steve's plaid shirt, pulling him close to me and kissing him with a passion I'm sure he was _not _expecting. I pulled away, leaning forward to kiss him one last time, then let go of him. His eyes were as wide as saucers and I could hear Annamarie huff—you could _hear _the eye roll.

"I love you," I said, giving him a smile. He nodded, his mouth still slightly open, his face scarlet.

"I, uh, I love you, too," he mumbled, leaning forward to kiss my forehead before standing up. He and Annamarie began to leave the room. I heard her ask him how I had survived, disappointment lacing her tone, and rolled my eyes.

"God, I hate that bitch," Bruce whispered, walking back around to me. We both laughed, shaking our heads.

When I was finally let out of the Med Ward, a place I usually loved so much, I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself. Steve had started going to the gym everyday, and I was released while he was there. I decided to wander the ship, hoping I'd find Pepper or Natasha.

"Someone finally let the beast out of her cage!" I heard a voice yell as soon as I stepped out of the elevator. I rolled my eyes and turned to look at Tony.

"I'm pretty sure the _beast _is down in the lab. I, I'm just a humble little doctor," I said with a smirk.

"You know, he would resent you for that," Tony said, pointing a finger at me. "And I will _gladly _rat you out."

"I love you too, Tony," I said, walking down the hallway towards his and Pepper's room.

"Hey, uh, kiddo," he said, rather awkwardly. I stopped dead in my tracks, my eyebrows knitting together. I spun around to find him awkwardly shuffling on his feet, a hand rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh my god. Who are you and what have you done with Tony? You're acting like Steve. Did the real Tony do something stupid and have you switch bodies or something? Because I am _not _kissing you," I said sarcastically—yet still slightly worried at the possibility.

"Don't push it, sweet cheeks," he said, snapping back to his normal self rather quickly. He became awkward again, and waved his hand dismissively. "Just forget it."

"Aw, Tony, don't be like that," I said, jogging down the hallway and spinning him around to face me. "What the hells got you so beat up?"

He looked at me sternly before crossing his arms. "I, uh…you know, back in the hospital room, when you said I was…you know, like a father figure to you? Did, uh…did you mean it? Am…am I a good one?"

My jaw dropped and I leaned forward in surprise. "Tony, are you worried about being a dad?"

He rolled his eyes, letting out an overly dramatic scoff. "What are you talking about, that's ridiculous—"

"Oh, Tony," I breathed out, stepping forward and pulling him into a hug.

"Aw Becks, c'mon, this is a new shirt, you're gonna get it all wrinkled," he whined. When I didn't let go, he slowly placed one hand on my back, giving me a couple pats. "Alright, you can let go now, this is enough sentiment to last a lifetime, I'm embarrassed enough as it is."

"You're going to be a great dad," I said, pulling away from him and putting my hands on his shoulders. "This kid is going to be the luckiest child in the world because he has Pepper as a mom and _you _as a dad. The two of you combined are going to make the best parents the planet has ever seen. I can guarantee you, the first time you look at him, your ego will dissolve. Well, not around us—but at least around your son. You'll be the best dad ever." I swallowed, my thoughts flickering to my own father, but pushed them down.

Tony chuckled awkwardly and nodded. "Thanks kiddo. I guess you're right—I mean, I'm Tony _frigging _Stark. I'm a superhero. Doesn't every kid wish their dad was a superhero?"

I laughed, shaking my head as a broad smile crossed his face. "You'll be just fine." I shoved his shoulder and he chuckled, walking back to the elevator. Just as I heard the doors open, I turned around and he looked over to me. "And just for the record, Tony? I did mean it. You're the closest thing I've had to a dad in a long time. And you're a damn good one."

Tony smiled, reaching a hand out to keep the elevator open. "Thanks, kiddo. Now shut up and stop making me feel all mushy inside."

I rolled my eyes, walking toward my room. Tony Stark never ceased to amaze me. He had a very hard shell—he was arrogant, annoying, rude—just a downright _asshole. _I would butt heads with him constantly. The fights I'd had with Tony were some of the worst in my life—I'd scream and punch the bastard at points. Yet, when that shell came down…I smiled, shaking my head at the thought that Tony could be like Steve at times. Tony was nervous about being a dad, and he was embarrassed at the fact he was embarrassed—which Steve always was. Sometimes I would forget that at the end of the day, Tony was still a human being.

I could hear the elevator doors ping softly down the hall as I slipped my keycard into my room. "Hey!" my favorite all-American boy shouted. "I didn't know you were getting out today. Why didn't you tell me?"

I smiled, waving at him as he jogged towards me. "I just got out a couple minutes ago, and you were busy, so I figured I'd just wander around."

When he finally reached me, he leaned down to kiss my cheek and grimaced. "You could've come and got me, I wasn't busy."

I rolled my eyes, pushing the door to our room open and walking in. "You were in the gym, that counts as busy.

"You know you'll always come first," Steve replied, leaning down into the fridge to grab a water bottle.

I rolled my eyes at him and we both chuckled. "How's Annamarie been?"

Steve choked on his water, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Uh, good, I guess," he answered, blinking a few times while catching his breath. Anytime she had come up in conversation since our fight, he would get really awkward. It was understandable, but still hysterical. "She, uh, asks about you," he said, walking over and sitting down on the couch. "A lot."

I rolled my eyes again, crossing my arms and sitting on the coffee table in front of him. "You know, if you keep doing that, your eyes are going to get stuck that way," Steve said, pointing at me with the hand that held the water bottle. I chuckled, rolling them once again, and he laughed.

"So, I have a question for you," Steve said. I raised my eyebrows, folding my hands together and leaning forward on my knees. He leaned towards me as well, and held my clasped hands in between both of his. "When you mentioned getting married in Disney World, were you serious? Because it doesn't sound so bad."

A smile tore apart my face and I burst out laughing, letting my head fall back. "Yes, of course I was serious! What girl doesn't dream about having her fairytale wedding in Disney World? Would you seriously get married in Disney World for me?"

Steve quirked an eyebrow, giving me a look of disbelief. "Sweetheart, I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this for _me."_ My mouth dropped and I burst out laughing harder than I had in years. Steve was laughing right alongside me to the point that a few tears were starting to fall from the corner of his eye.

I punched him in the shoulder when the howling died down to a few giggles. "I hate you," I said, shaking my head. He smirked, but I quickly did the same in reply. "Fine, _darling, _if we _have _to get married in Disney World, I have one condition."

"And whatever could that be? I thought I was doing you a favor," Steve said, poking me in the stomach.

I smiled, leaning forward so that our faces were inches apart, but the atmosphere was still playful. "I want Cinderella's carriage. The big glass ball with all the white horses? I want it."

Steve's jaw dropped and he back away, his eyebrows nearly touching his hairline. "YOU CAN GET THAT?"

I laughed to the point of tears again, collapsing in his lap. "You're such an idiot, do you know that?"

He chuckled, ruffling my hair. "At least one person finds me funny."

As I leaned forward to kiss my fiancé, a glass-shattering scream tore through the helicarrier—a voice I recognized too well. Steve and I shared a look before running through the door and pounding on the one for the room adjacent to ours. After testing the handle to find it locked, Steve broke down the door with his shoulder to find an alarming sight.

Pepper had both of her hands on her stomach, breathing heavy while collapsed on the kitchen floor.

Tony was going to be a dad much sooner than he thought.

**A/N: Ah yay! It's baby time! I'm sorry that this chapter is mostly filler, but I wanted to build up to this. I just wanna take the time to fully appreciate Steve Rogers. Because really—a man who wants to get married in Disney World is just truly spectacular. I probably won't be able to update seeing as I'll be on vacation for the 4****th**** of July, so for those of you who celebrate it, have a great holiday! Love you all. **


	9. GUYS GUESS WHAT

**HEY GUYS GUESS WHAT**

**THIS IS NOT A CHAPTER**

**BUT THAT IS BESIDE THE POINT BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE UPSET WITH ME BECAUSE MY FRIEND AND I JUST DID THE BEST THING EVER**

**I'm sure many of you have read the Gwendolyn Powers stories written by AccioVoldemortsNose. She's already finished the first two installments, Powers and Energies, while currently working on the third, Alliances. It's safe to say that they are the finest Steve/OC's on this website. (Well, in my opinion.) Since many of you follow both of our stories, we decided to have a little fun.**

**So the two of us have collaborated on a one shot called **_**The Right Powers**_** in which Gwen and Becky meet.**

**Oh yes.**

**It's been published under AccioVoldemortsNose so GO READ IT RIGHT NOW! Because it's a fantastic piece of work that will just make your heart sing. I know many of you love both Gwen and Becky, so come on. Those two meeting and talking about our darling Steve? Does it get any better?**

**Hope you guys enjoy it, the two of us worked really hard on it. GO READ IT RIGHT NOW. PLEASE.**

**Love you all. Happy fourth!**


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: I know. Trust me, I know. I can't believe how long it's been. I'm a horrible person. I'm sorry to keep you waiting this long. I've been on vacation for quite some time, and still currently am, so I've had a hard time getting time to sit down and write. I'm so unbelievably sorry. I hope you'll all forgive me.**

It was the early hours of the morning when I finally saw a little head. Pepper had gone into labor nearly twelve hours earlier—it was slow and tedious, but I had sat in that room with Tony for every second. I had brought in a delivery team for Pepper, because if I had tried to do it, her body would have healed over, and we would have never heard the beautiful cry of Tony and Pepper's baby boy.

They immediately handed the child to me and I took him to be cleaned. I would be able to ensure that the baby was completely healthy. We were unsure of how he would be when he was born due to Tony's reactor—if any of the debris on his blood had somehow managed to factor into his child, I would be able to make sure he was alright. I wrapped the boy in a blue blanket and truly looked at him for the first time. Green eyes, dark hair, olive skin. He was still whimpering softly, but the louder cries had subsided.

I walked back out into the room where Pepper was now sitting up, looking at Tony with love. It was possibly the cutest scene I had ever seen—Pep was crying, a huge smile spreading across her face, while Tony was holding her hand. He had a soft grin and his eyes were glistening with unshed tears. When the baby in my arms whimpered again, both of them snapped their heads in my direction and gasped. I handed the baby to Pepper first, who began cooing at him. I stepped out of the room, giving them some privacy, to find Steve by the door.

"How is she?" he asked, grabbing my hand and wiping the hair off my forehead.

"She's great, she did wonderful," I replied, nearly crying myself. "He's the most beautiful baby."

Steve grinned, nodding his head. "I bet. What did they name him?"

I shook my head, reaching up to wipe a tear off my cheek. "They didn't say just yet, but I have a pretty good idea."

Steve quirked an eyebrow, but one of the nurses came out before he could say anything. "They'd like you to meet him," she said with a grin, and I grabbed Steve's hand and walked back inside.

The two parents were sitting in the same spot, but now Tony had the little bundle in his arms. He was smiling down at him, whispering to him so softly I couldn't hear. Steve and I walked right up beside him, leaning over his shoulder to look at the baby.

"Oh, Tony, he's beautiful," I whispered, reaching a hand down to pet the boy's fine hair.

"'Course he is, he looks just like me," he responded, not taking his eyes off the baby in his arms.

Steve chuckled, reaching down and offering the baby his finger. The little boy wrapped his hand around it, causing Steve to laugh. "What's his name?"

"Howard," Pepper said immediately, beaming up at us. "Howard Steven."

Steve's jaw dropped, his hand falling slightly out of the baby's grasp. Howard whimpered again, and Steve instantly moved his hand back into his grasp. "Steven?"

Tony nodded, looking up at my fiancé. "Don't flatter yourself, Cap. My dad dedicated his life to finding you, and well, I'm kinda fond of you myself, but don't let that go to your head. I'd also really appreciate it if the two of you would be his godparents."

I gasped, looking over at Pepper and grabbing her hand. "Really? Do you guys mean that?"

Pepper nodded, grinning at me. "Of course. You're both of our best friends."

I stood up, wrapping my arms around Steve's waist, who smiled down at me. "Howard Steven Stark. That's quite a mouthful."

Tony stood up, leaning towards the two of us. "Here. This is the one and only chance you'll ever get at holding my offspring. Appreciate it while it lasts." I grabbed the baby and held him in the crook of my arm. Steve wrapped his one arm around my waist, leaning over my shoulder to look at the baby. His free hand was cupping the back of Howard's head.

"Hey there, baby boy," I whispered, leaning my face closer to Howard's. "I'm your godmommy. Do you know you're named after two of the most amazing men that ever lived? And you're daddy's pretty great, too. You're so loved, Howard."

Steve turned his face to kiss my cheek and I grinned. "You're going to be the most amazing mother someday, you know that?"

I grinned, giggling at the idea that someday, I would be holding Steve's baby in my arms. "You'll be an alright daddy, I guess." Steve chuckled and scooped Howard out of my arms, walking around the room with him as he bounced the baby.

"I think…" I whispered to Tony as Steve was across the room. Pepper had fallen asleep from all the exhaustion of the day's events. "That _that _was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for him."

Tony shrugged, a smirk on his lips. "That actually _isn't _why I did it. I don't aim to be nice to the man—but the kid needed a strong, sturdy name. Someone to look up to."

"So not Anthony?" I asked, smirking back at him.

"I said someone to look _up _to. Not someone like me," he responded, his smirk still present, but more somber.

"Hey, Tony," I said, turning and reaching a hand up to his shoulder. "You are the most incredible man I have ever known. Well, besides Steve and my real father." I smiled at him, noticing for the millionth time how he never let his true emotions show through. "You're really the only dad I've ever known—and you've done a damn good job. You're someone to look up to, Tony. I mean…I do."

Tony chuckled, pushing my hand off his shoulder and turning to look at Steve. "You're too good to me, kiddo."

I smiled, bumping my shoulder against his. "Well, _someone _has to be.

A few others began filing into the room, including Bruce, Clint, Natasha and even Thor. Steve brought the baby back to Tony, who began showing off his son to the group.

I grabbed Steve's hand, dragging him out of the overcrowded room. He smiled, staring out behind me, his eyes glassy. "They named him. After me."

"Guess you made an impression on them, huh?" I replied, giving him a smirk.

He chuckled. "I don't know what I did to deserve it, but…I'm so honored."

"We'll get to return the favor eventually," I replied, grabbing his hand and walking down the hallway.

"You think?" Steve asked, a light blush painting his cheeks.

I poked his cheek, grinning ear to ear. "There's the shy little Steve I fell in love with. So it's ok to say I'll be a great mother, but once I talk about making babies, you get all bashful?"

He rolled his eyes, the flush spreading to his neck. "Do you have to call it making babies?"

I laughed out loud at hearing the words come from his mouth. It sounded so awkward and foreign, and he blushed again. "Seeing as it makes you this uncomfortable? Yes. Yes I do."

"I hate you," he breathed out, chuckling.

I smirked, nearly skipping down the hallway. "Buuuuuut you want to make babies with me."

Steve's jaw dropped and I leaned over, laughing. I pointed at him, nearly shouting over my giggles. "You can't deny it, because it's true!" I sang, skipping backwards away from him.

He opened his mouth, stopping in the middle of the hallway. He closed it, and then opened it again, just looking at me. I burst out laughing again, wagging my finger at him. He glared at me before marching over and placing his hands on my waist, kissing my deeply. I melted into his embrace, sighing as he kissed me.

"We could get started on it now, you know, if you want," I said as he pulled away and he chuckled.

"How many kids do you want?" he asked suddenly. I raised my eyebrows, loosening my grip around his neck.

"I'm not entirely sure. You?"

"Three," he answered immediately, nodding his head. "Three. No only child. If you have two kids, one parent always goes with one, and the other goes to the other kid, but three? It throws a wrench in the mix. Makes everything fair for the kids."

I raised my eyebrows, nodding my head while smiling at him. "Sounds like you've thought this all out."

He chuckled, his face reddening slightly. "I may or may not have some names in mind."

My grin grew wider and I nodded at him. "That's sweet, Steve. And I think three sounds perfect."

Steve beamed at me. "Why do we always make life decisions in the most random places?"

"Because you bring them up at the most random moments!" I shouted in reply, poking him in the chest.

"I can't help it! They just happen to cross my mind, and then boom, it comes flying out of my mouth."

I laughed, grabbing his hand again and walking down the hallway towards the elevators. "Whatever you say, babe. Hey, I'm gonna head down to my office and print out the baby's birth certificate, but I'll come find you after, alright?"

Steve nodded, kissing me on the cheek and offering me a smile before walking back towards Pepper's room. "Love you."

"I love you too," I shouted, before getting in the elevator and going down a floor. I stepped into my office and sat down on the computer, typing in the necessary information for the birth certificate.

Had Steve and I really just talked about how many kids we wanted? I smiled, shaking my head. I looked down at my left hand, like I so often did, and smiled at the ring there. How could everything in my life go so wrong for me, and then all the sudden, turn around?

"Shouldn't you be admiring your godson?"

I sighed before even looking up from my computer. My eyes turned toward the blonde woman leaning against the doorframe and rolled my eyes.

"What do you want, Annamarie?"

She chuckled, walking forward until she was sitting in the leather chair on the other side of my desk. She leaned forward, running her hand over the top of my desk. "You always expect the worst of me. Why do you hate me so?"

"Because you tried to convince my fiancé I was cheating on him," I said immediately, leaning back in my chair, away from her. "You've never been anything but horrible to me."

She chuckled, her voice deeper than usual. "Because you deserved it. You still do. You deserve it and _much worse._"

I slid my chair back, hitting the wall, as Annamarie stood up, leaning over my desk towards me. "You possess an incredible gift, Rebecca Andrews." She stood up, walking around the desk, and I leapt out of my chair. Before I could run out of the room, she grabbed my neck in one hand and both my wrists in the other, pinning me to the wall. "But I feel you were too good to the Avengers. They would have been crushed if it hadn't been for you, saving them."

"What the hell are you talking about?" I screeched, before she moved her hand from my neck to cover my mouth.

"_You _were the reason they defeated me. If it hadn't been for you, Midgard would belong to me. _You _were my downfall, Rebecca Andrews, and now, _I _shall be the downfall of _you."_

Annamarie slowly began to change before my own eyes. Her long blonde hair transformed into short, slicked-back, black locks. She became taller and her features became more masculine.

Annamarie no longer stood in front of me. Instead, Loki was pinning me to the wall.

**A/N: OH SHIT. See you guys soon hopefully!**


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N: Sup my amigos? How have you all been? I've missed you. I hope your week has been well. Sorry I left you hanging with that last chapter—the madness has been unleashed. It seemed that half of you realized about Annamarie, and the other half didn't. I'm glad you guys are liking it. This chapter is interesting because I only write this story from one POV, and that's Becky's—so you don't know much of what's happening outside of her. Who knows what the Avengers are doing? Kinda cool. I'm gonna shut up now and let you read a chapter. Love you.**

"Oh my god," I choked out, but Loki's fingers dug into my throat deeper, causing me to sputter.

Loki chuckled darkly, loosening his grip just slightly. I inhaled a shaky breath, my eyes fluttering closed. "Hadn't been expecting to see me, had you? I fooled everyone. I eliminated the true Annamarie Barrett and won the trust of all."

"Why," I whispered, my voice hoarse. "Why did—you…Steve," I managed out, gasping for air.

"Why did I seduce your fiancé? Why, to learn about you." Loki grinned. "Thor has been so mentally unstable since my escape, so he became of no use to me. However, now I had access to the men who knew you best—and my, they fell right into my trap. They told me everything I needed to know." Loki chuckled, dropping my neck and letting me crumble to the ground. "It was too easy, really. The monster was a tad more difficult, I must say. He didn't tell me much. But the Captain," Loki's grin tore up his face. "He gave me everything I needed to know.

I tried to stand up, despite my dizziness, and stumbled to the door, leaning on the doorknob. "I wouldn't bother, darling," Loki said, laughing as he did. "Don't bother shouting for your soldier, either. He won't be able to hear you."

"What do you want from me?" I mumbled, turning to look the god in the eye.

"Why, my dear," Loki whispered in a soothing voice, walking closer to me and kneeling beside me on the ground. "I'm going to _destroy _you. And let those so-called Avengers watch."

Loki suddenly had me by the neck again, and I could feel the world fading out from me. My last thought before falling unconscious was that Steve was going to _kill _the god.

* * *

**(GUYS LOOK I KNOW HOW TO INSERT A PAGEBREAK!)**

"Ah, finally, you've arisen." I blinked my eyes open, not sure of where I was. I was sitting on a wooden chair, my wrists tied behind my back and my ankles bound. There was a gag covering my mouth. It was a very mundane way of restraining me for the God of Mischief, but I knew there had to be more to it. We were in what appeared to me a typical family home. The chair I was in was placed in the middle of an empty living room with a large bay window, the curtains drawn tightly. The customary front door was right beside it. On my other side was a flight of stairs leading to the upper floor, and a kitchen that was severely outdated. It looked oddly familiar—the white cabinets, covered in dirt, the black and white tiled floor, the height marks in the entryway…

No.

My eyes widened in surprise and I tried to gasp, forgetting about the piece of cloth covering my mouth. "Ah, so you know where we are, I'm presuming?" Loki appeared out of the other doorway I knew was on the kitchen wall I couldn't see. "It's been awhile, hasn't it? The last time you were here, you were cleaning this house out. Why did you never sell it? I'm aware you are of high financial stature, but keeping a dilapidated building such as this for sentimental value seems a tad immature. You cleaned out all their belongings, didn't you? What does this structure still hold for you?" The sarcasm rippled off him in waves. I wanted to slap the smug smile off his face, but the bindings on my wrists held me back.

Loki stepped towards me, running a hand down the side of my face gently and removing the gag. I inhaled sharply, my heart racing. "Why would you bring me here? I did nothing to hurt you, Loki—"

"That is a _lie," _he hissed, leaning forward to smack my cheek. "You aided them. Healed them. You were their eyes and ears in the sky. You gave them hope. You guided them. Without you, they would have fallen apart, just as I had planned. Yet you, you nearly average human, you inspired them to fight."

"They would have defeated you with or without me, and you know it," I retorted, my mouth setting in a firm line. "I don't like bullies, and neither do they."

Loki chuckled, though there was no humor in it. "Then you should hate yourself, and your pathetic _team. You _are the bullies here, my darling. You are defending a world that desires to be ruled. They don't want salvation, they want a _king, _and I can give them that."

"You don't know what people want, Loki," I spat causing him to scoff and turn away from me.

"The human race is _ignorant. _You know _nothing _of what you want. You claim you want to be free, yet when given that very thing, you are clueless as to what to do with it. You thrive when you are given directions, for you know not of what you wish to do on your own. You crave freewill, but do not know what to do with it."

I rolled my eyes, looking at the growth chart on the wall. The last time I was measured there, I was 5'6''. I hadn't grown much since then. I was probably in 9th grade—I couldn't see the year written from where I was. "It's hard for you to be here, isn't it? To know you are completely alone in the world, like I am. At first, I thought that you might side with me, because you understood my pain. But you are just like them, even though you are entirely alone."

I looked at my childhood house—the structure was the same, but it was empty, hollow. What once made it my home was no longer here. Like how I was. "You're wrong."

"I beg to differ, my dear."

"I'm not alone anymore." I turned to look at Loki, my gaze fierce. Loki's eyes widened in surprise for the shortest moment, but it was gone before I could be really sure if it was ever there. "I have Tony. And Bruce. And Pepper. And Thor. And JARVIS. And Natasha. And Clint. And Steve. And I had Phil. You can try to make me feel alone, but I have a family now. And even if somehow, you do succeed in killing me before they get here, well," I said, throwing in a smirk. "You can be damn sure they'll avenge me."

Loki scoffed again, rolling his eyes as he sauntered around the room. "Your soldier will be so heartbroken. By killing you, I will have killed him as well, even the Iron Man."

"Why are you stalling, Loki? Why don't you just get it over with," I said, growing tired.

Loki stopped, mid-stride, and gave me a wide grin. "Oh, I'm not drawing this out for you, my dear. I'm making this as painful as I can for your 'family.'"

I furrowed my eyebrows, shaking my head at him. "They don't know if I'm dead or not at this point. Why's it even matter?"

Loki walked forward, caressing the side of my face. "Because they're watching this at this very moment."

My eyes widened in surprise as Loki conjured a screen in thin air in front of me, showing the reactions of the Avengers. They were fully dressed in their gear, seemingly riding in a jet. Steve punched the wall beside him in anger as Tony was shouting at the pilot, most likely Clint, to hurry the hell up. "Steve? How long have I been gone?"

Steve's eyes immediately snapped to whatever was projecting the picture of me. "Becky, goddammit! We're coming for you, I promise we'll be there soon!" He looked near tears.

Loki chuckled behind me, reaching forward and sliding my gag back up into place despite my protests. "It'll be too late by then, Captain."

"If you haven't done it by now, you'll never have the balls to do it," Tony shouted, moving forward in the shot. He was dressed in his Iron Man suit, his mask slid now.

"I've been giving you time. Time to find her, gather hope. And just when you think you've saved her, I'll crush her." Loki removed the screen, and once again, it was just the two of us. He pulled my gag back off and I took a deep breath.

"How long have you had me?"

Loki smirked, walking in front of me. "It's been just over a week now. I put you to sleep so I wouldn't have to bother with you. These pleasantries, though amusing, get tiring quickly. The sooner your friends get here, the sooner I can kill you."

"And you think you've figured out how to kill me?" I raised my eyebrows. A challenge.

"Dr. Andrews, do you remember the first day we met? And you asked me why I was chosen for the Loki investigation? What did I say?"

I thought back, trying to remember, then breathed out a sigh, shaking my head. Idiot. "You've mastered invisibility."

"Precisely." Loki walked forward, putting his hands on the back of the chair on either side of my head. "I know everything about you, Rebecca. And I know that with this," A syringe appeared in his hand, full of a blue liquid. I squeezed my eyes shut in frustration, knowing immediately what it was. "You're not going to be able to escape me, Rebecca Andrews. Not even your friends can save you."

I nodded my head, looking around the room. The house I was born into was going to be the house I died in. Why was I so resolved to this? I had simply accepted my fate. This was it.

Was I happy with my life? My childhood had been great. Asides from losing my father. Was he watching me now? Was he sitting in a house on the edge of Heaven, playing with my brothers as my mom cooked dinner? Were they happy? I hoped so. We'd be reunited soon.

After I lost my mom and brothers, I fell into a black hole. I was emotionless—hollow. Devoid of anything. I was an empty shell, craving to be wanted. That was why I threw myself at guys—I'd pick the biggest asshole, who wasn't looking for anything in return. But then somehow, my heart would creep back up and I'd get burned. Time and time again.

And then there was Steve.

I smiled at the memory. Phil recruiting me for SHIELD. The first time I met Steve, when he defended my honor against Tony during our first meeting. When I managed to heal him in the hospital wing after Loki's attack on NYC. When I kissed him in Central Park, and he gave me my mom's wedding ring back. When we moved in together. When he proposed. Steve brought life back into me, and I'd be forever grateful.

But I was giving up on him. I was giving up on me. This was it.

My smile faded when I realized how much this was going to hurt him. I knew he'd be able to continue—he'd lost Peggy and survived. Was this, really, any different? I hope he would live a happy life. Maybe meet someone, settle down, raise some beautiful children. He'd be happy.

And I would be dead.

"Are you pitying yourself, Dr. Andrews? It's a little late for that, isn't it?"

I sighed, meeting him in the eye. "If you're going to kill me, fine. Just…just please. Don't' hurt them. Don't hurt Steve. Please. If you promise me you won't touch Steve, I won't resist."

"What makes you think I would keep that promise? I am the God of Mischief, my dear," Loki said with a smirk.

"I'm willing to try to trust you. For Steve."

Loki chuckled, walking around the room again. "You know, they're still watching this exchange. I wonder how the soldier felt about that. Giving up yourself. Surrendering."

"Steve," I said, barely above a whisper. "I love you so much. I love you more than anything else in this entire world. And I know you'll be ok—you'll be able to survive without me. Just promise me you'll find happiness. I love you, Steve. I'm sorry."

Where were the tears? Shouldn't I be crying? How did this god turn me back into a hollow shell?

"I assume they will be here soon. Are you prepared to see them one last time?"

I wish he would stop smiling. It wasn't making this any easier.

"No. But that doesn't mean I won't do it anyway."

Loki sighed, anger marring his features. "I thought this would be more fun, Rebecca Andrews. I expected rage, heartbreak, desperation, depression. Any emotion, really. But here you are. Nothing."

"What's the point?" I whispered. "They'll destroy you, you know. Thor may not let them kill you, but they'll make sure you'll never see the light of day again. And even though Thor might not let them…I'm not sure Steve will follow those orders."

"Ah, there's the fight I was anticipating!" Loki said, leaning towards me with a grin.

"This may be the end of me, Loki, but I can guarantee, this is sure a hell the end of _you, _too."

**A/N: This was a pretty sad chapter to write. I hate seeing Becky like this. You know, we're actually approaching the end, my friends. (That rhymed.) Couple more chapters, and that'll be it. I plan on writing a collection of one shots after this of Becky and Steve's life. I'll even be taking suggestions from you guys. I'll obviously let you guys know when it's up, but it won't be until this is over. I hope you guys liked the chapter, and I'll see you all soon.**


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the wait. I'm home from vacation for two weeks, and you think I'd have more free time, but I have nearly none. It was my sister's birthday, so there were plenty of celebrations and I've been trying to catch up with my friends, so I haven't been home much. I'd also like to give another shout-out to the tumblr I made for this story, "rightpartnerfanfic" If you haven't followed it yet, you should. I just love to chat. I'm gonna shut up now and give you a chapter.**

"So how do you plan on doing this?" I asked, picking my head up. It suddenly felt extremely heavy. My whole body felt heavy.

Loki turned to me, his eyebrows raised, looking genuinely confused. The slight smirk was still on his face, frustrating me to no end. He would enjoy this. Thoroughly. "Pardon?"

"How are you going to kill me? What's your great escape?" I replied, letting my head fall back down toward my chest. I glared at him through my eyelashes.

"Why would I tell you that?" he replied, rolling his eyes at me.

"Would it really make a difference if I know?" I retorted and Loki chuckled.

"There's still fight in you," he whispered, coming forward and stroking the side of my face. God, he was disgusting. "Your team will burst in, prepared to fight, but all I will do is simply inject this," he flicked the tip of the needle in his hand, "into your neck and let them take me."

"_What?" _I nearly shrieked, the blood flowing to my head again. "You'll let them take you? Then what the hell's the point of this?"

Loki grinned, clapping his hands. "I knew you weren't devoid of emotion. This will be fun, of that I am sure."

"You're just going to give yourself over after you kill me?" I asked, shaking my head.

"Of course, my dear," He said, pacing in front of me. "Even if I spend the rest of my life in a holding cell, I will have done what I set out to do. I will have ruined the Avengers—and my very existence will forever remind them of that."

"You really think you'll have destroyed them just by killing me? You must be stupider than you look," I spat, standing up tall.

Loki chuckled, smiling at me again. "I've been observing all of you for quite some time now. You must not realize how dear you are to them." Loki laughed again, rolling his eyes. "Caring so much for someone as simple as you, I'll never understand. Thor feels incredibly indebted to you. The monster refuses social contact with nearly everyone but you. Stark cares for you as dearly as he will his son. But the soldier," Loki said, pausing as he shook his head. "He worships you as a peasant would a queen. And by eliminating you, I will have cut them so deeply that the wound will never heal."

"They'll move on."

"They may, but the scar will always be there. The team will be gone—because every time they join together, their thoughts will flicker to you."

I heaved a frustrated sigh and looked over to the window, wondering how much longer I had. "Why me?" I asked, before I even though over the words. "I mean, it's better that it's me than any of them, but why did you choose me?"

Loki seemed equally frustrated and was starting to get angry. "You're far more idiotic than I ever deemed you. You're the focal point of that team—you've held them together. And without you, they will fall apart."

"So really, this is the end of your life too, isn't it?" I asked. Loki looked confused again, but quickly flickered back to angry. He hated that I was able to perplex him.

"Thor believes in me too much—he would never allow to have me executed. He is a fool."

"He loves you, you know?" I said, feeling my energy creep back up on me. I briefly thought of the night Steve and I had lain on the couch together, watching The Dark Knight for the first time. When Alfred had told Bruce that "some men just want to watch the world burn," Steve had stiffened. I had asked him about it, and he told me about Johann Schmidt—someone just like the villain in the movie, the Joker. I had shaken my head at him, not wanting to believe that people could really be like that. But here I was, sitting right in front of one.

Loki scoffed at my comment, turning to glare on me. "Trying to reveal my humanity will not help you in this situation."

"Don't you care _at all? _You grew up together, played together. You looked up to him. Just because you didn't have the same biological father doesn't mean you have to hate him."

Loki lunged for me, his hands landing on the back of the chair. "Thor is arrogant, insensitive—" he continued ranting, but I was barely listening. If I could just keep him distracted a little longer, if they were close, if they were seeing this…

A loud crash was heard from the window I had been staring at for so long, and before my eyes could even focus on what was coming through it, it had flown into Loki and thrown him to the ground. I turned to look, seeing Thor grappling with him on the kitchen floor.

I felt the ground begin to shake under my feet, and I smiled immediately, knowing who was coming to my rescue. I could hear the wall behind me be torn from the house and saw a big green hand wrap around me.

I was lifted up into the air, and the Hulk turned me around so that I was eye level with him. He tried to tear the chair off me, but ended up crushing it, leaving my arms and wrists bound. "Hey, big fella. Thanks for coming to get me."

The Hulk frowned. "Puny god hurt Becky."

I laughed, shaking my head at him. "Nah, big guy, I'm ok. You guys came just in time."

Hulk smiled at me before putting me down and picking Loki up and throwing him on the ground. "BECKY!"

I turned around and was immediately engulfed in a tight embrace. I could feel Steve's face, in his Captain America helmet, tucked into the crook of my neck. I wrapped my arms around his stomach and hugged him back.

He pulled away slightly, only to kiss me, far more desperately than he had in a long time. "There are so many things I want to yell at you for, but god damn, I'm just so happy you're ok," he whispered, chuckling slightly.

"Don't worry, you'll get the chance to later," I said, laughing in return.

"Trust me, I will." He kissed me again before running over to Loki, who I could hear laugh. Iron Man had joined the fight as well, firing at the god from the sky. I nearly laughed at how pathetic Loki looked—four on one.

"You are all _pathetic!" _Loki shouted, laughing like a mad man. Didn't he realize I had beaten him?

"Just give it up, Loki. It's over. There's no point—you're hopelessly outmatched," Steve said.

"Oh, I know," he said, smirking at them. Stupid idiot.

But suddenly, I felt Loki's hands on my neck and a cold needle slipped into my skin. "But I have still defeated you."

He pressed the plunger on the syringe, and the Tesseract energy entered my bloodstream. I released a glass-shattering shriek and fell to the ground, clutching my neck. It felt like fire coursing through my body.

Over my screams, I could hear the Hulk roar, Tony curse, and Steve shout my name. My brain could barely process what was happening—the pain was so severe it clouded everything. The hot feeling inside me had spread from my neck to engulf my entire body. I was writhing in pain, crying and screaming out for help—but in the back of my mind, I knew it was hopeless. I would be dead within minutes.

I could feel the ground rumbling beneath me fading away, and suddenly Bruce was standing over me. He would try to save me, but it would be to no avail.

The burning was growing dimmer, and my body felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds. I stopped flailing my arms and lay on the ground, my eyes rolling back. I could Bruce shouting for something, but it sounded faint. My ears were ringing, and I could feel my heart slowing down. I had known it would be quick, but I was getting closer each second.

Steve was beside me now, clutching me in his arms. He was shouting at me, slapping my face, but I couldn't make any part of my body move. It felt as if there was something sticking in the inside of my elbow, but I didn't have the energy to move and look at it.

It felt as if an anvil had been placed on my chest, making it harder to breathe. I wasn't getting any air, and I could feel myself slipping away. I could barely hear anything anymore, but I knew Steve was shouting. I forced myself to look up and met his gaze, his eyes full of tears, before I was engulfed in the darkness.

* * *

_It had been another bad day—Daddy was back in the hospital, like usual, but Mommy had said he wasn't feeling too good. Most days were bad days, anymore. Last night when I asked her when Daddy was going to get better, she cried and left my room, but I don't know why._

_I climbed up on my Dad's bed, snuggling into his side. He chuckled and wrapped his arm around me. He pressed a little red button and a lady walked in the room. She helped him sit up straight. My Daddy then picked me up and put me on his knee._

"_You know I'll never force you to do anything," he whispered in my ear, tickling my face. "I want you to follow your dreams, sweetheart. When you grow up, don't let anything stop you—not people, sickness, or any other problems you'll face. You're no normal girl, Becky—there's something extraordinary about you. Use it, honey. Don't let your gifts go to waste." _

_I smiled at him, giving him a big nod, and gave him a hug. He rubbed my back and I fell asleep with my head on his shoulder._

_Daddy didn't wake up the next day._

* * *

_I burst through the front door of the house, tears streaming down my face, and sprinted up to my room, slamming the door behind me. I had gone on a "date" with my asshole of a boyfriend, Justin, and he dumped me without even saying hello. Typical._

_The door to my bedroom opened just a creak and my younger brother, Dylan, poke his head in. "Can I come in?"_

_I sniffled into my pillow and heard him cross the room and sit down on my bed. I turned to look at him, wiping my eyes. For a fourteen year old, he was pretty big. He was muscular and nearly six foot now. Even though I was four years older than him, he towered above me._

"_You wanna talk about it?" he whispered, petting my hair back away from my face._

_I sighed, squeezing my eyes shut. "He met someone new. He called me a dumb bitch."_

_Dylan sighed, clenching his hand in a tight fist. "He's an idiot. I'm so sorry, Beck." He leaned forward, kissing me on the forehead, and walked out of the room._

_An hour later, I went downstairs to find something to eat, and found Dylan sitting at the table with a black eye and bleeding knuckles. "What the hell happened to you?"_

_He chuckled, looking up at me through his bruised eye. "You should see the other guy." My mouth fell open and he smiled up at me. "No one calls my sister a dumb bitch but me."_

* * *

_I had been talking with Steve when an explosion tore through the helicarrier, sending me flying into the wall. My eyes were blacking out, my body not healing itself fast enough, when he knelt down beside me, yelling my name. "Rebecca, I need you to stay with me, talk to me!"_

_My head was pounding and I could feel pain rippling through my body. "Steve…i-it hurts…"_

_Steve's hand cupped my cheek, and if I had been functioning properly, I would have blushed. "Rebecca, please, look at me, you're going to be ok, everything's going to be fine," he yelled._

"_I-I'm ok…my heart hurts, but I'll b-be ok. Steve, you need to go." I groaned as my head pounded. "Go help everyone."_

_Before I could process what was happening, Steve had me in his arms and was running down the hallway. I reached up, gently touching his neck, in an attempt to heal him. It took what little energy I had left in me, and just before I blacked out, Steve laid me on a bed and whispered, "God, Rebecca, please, just hold on," as he kissed my forehead._

* * *

_I was swaying side to side, one hand on Steve's shoulder, the other clasped in his hand as we danced at the Stark Gala. We had both been so nervous, seeing as we hated parties, but being with each other seemed to make it better._

"_You're a fantastic dancer," I commented, noticing how he kept looking down at his feet. "A natural, really."_

_He chuckled, shaking his head at me. "It was worth the wait."_

_I felt my stomach flip and my mouth went dry. "Are you sure? About…me?"_

"_What do you mean?" he asked, his eyebrow rising in that adorable way of his._

"_I mean," I said, letting out a nervous sigh. "Am I 'the right partner'?"_

_Steve grinned at me and took a glance around us. "You know, my life's been…a little rough. I woke up in this new world and realized that everyone I had ever loved was gone. Bucky, Peggy, everyone. And then…" Steve's eyes met mine again and I smiled. "Then I met you. And…I don't know. I feel like I was supposed to live in this world. And…I, uh—" Steve paused, his face turning scarlet. I squeezed his hand, clasped in mine, and he glanced at me through his eyelashes. "I love you, Becky. So yes, you're 'the right partner'."_

_I felt my heart, which had been broken nearly a thousand times over, slowly knit back together, and smiled up at him. "I love you, too, Steve."_

**A/N: Just so you guys know, the flashbacks are all showing a time Becky was saved by a man, both literally and emotionally. Love you guys.**


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N: Guys, I love you so much. The things you said about the last chapter were some of the kindest I've ever heard from you. I'm so happy you liked it. A lot of you were worried it was the final chapter, but don't worry, we have a-ways to go. I'd tell you in the AN if it was the last chap, don't worry. **

"Jesus," I mumbled, rubbing the back of my head. I had landed on the ground hard. There seemed to be a tingling in the crook of my neck, but I figured it had to do with my fall. What had even happened?

I sat up, looking around. I was in a grassy field with nothing in sight—not even a tree. Just completely flat land. I stood, wobbling on my feet, and turned around to find my childhood home, placed in the middle of this grassland.

What the hell? My house had been on a cul-de-sac with multiple other houses—yet here it stood in the middle of nowhere. And where were all the people? You could hear a pin drop in this silence. A slight breeze rustled my hair across my face, brushing against my neck. The crook of my neck started to tingle again and I reached up to touch it, feeling a slight wound.

Oh.

Was…was I dead? Was this heaven? If it was, it certainly wasn't how I imagined it. I had pictured white, fluffy clouds, people milling about…wasn't it supposed to be perfect in heaven? If it was, where were the people I loved? Why was I all alone? What the hell was going on?

Seeing nothing else I could possibly do and being absolutely confused, I walked toward my house. The second step creaked when I stood on it, exactly how I remembered. The window by the porch swing still had the crack in it from when Dylan had fallen into it when he was fifteen. I turned the familiar brass doorknob in my hand and pushed the door open, revealing my family room. However, unlike how it was when Loki had brought me here, it was furnished the way it had been when I was a child. It was painted a soft blue color with a green area rug thrown over the rickety wooden floor. The plaid couch sat against the wall by the large window, with pictures of Dylan, Richie, and myself in age order hanging above it. The old box television sat on a table across from it. It seemed to be playing a Red Sox game.

Suddenly, a loud clatter came from the kitchen, and I immediately jumped back. Was I allowed to be in here? It was _my _home, right? But who else was in here? "Hello?" I yelled, walking through the doorframe into the familiar kitchen.

"Becky?"

I felt all the air fly out of my body and my mouth fell open. "Daddy?"

My father came rushing through the kitchen and engulfed me in a hug, pulling me close against him. I was too stunned to return it before he pushed me back at arms length. He chuckled, looking me over. "You're not my baby girl anymore."

"Am I dead?" I questioned, completely at a loss. I had absolutely no idea what the hell was happening. I didn't _feel _dead…but my dad was here, and he had passed over twenty-five years ago.

My dad chuckled, grabbing my hand and sitting me down on the couch. He turned the television off before plopping beside me. "You're not dead, sweetie."

"Then what on earth is going on?"

"You know, I thought you'd be more excited to see me," my dad said, poking my nose.

I offered him a confused smile. "I'm thrilled to see you, Daddy, it's just…I don't really know what's going on right now."

"I understand, baby girl." He wrapped his arm around me, pulling me tight against the side of his body. "You're friends are trying to save you as we speak."

"But I was supposed to die when—"

"When that Loki guy stabbed you, I know." I looked at him in confusion, but he smiled at me. "Do you think I haven't been watching over you all these years? I've always been with you, sweetheart. That man you got is quite the gentleman."

I chuckled, my thoughts flooding to Steve. How was he holding up? Did he know I was ok? "How are Mom and the boys?"

My dad grinned and turned to look at the pictures of us on the wall behind our heads. "They're doing great. They miss you a whole lot, and are awfully sorry they couldn't make it to your college graduation party." I chuckled at the morose humor.

"I miss them too. I miss all of you. Every single day." My dad hugged me tighter and kissed my temple.

"You've been so strong, baby girl. But now you have a choice to make." I looked to him, and all happiness fell from his features. "You can go either way right now, Beck. You can come with me, see your mom and Dylan and Richie, or you can go back to your friends and fight through this. It's all up to you, sweetheart, but whatever you choose, we'll support your decision."

I chuckled dryly, shaking my head. "You ever read Harry Potter, Daddy?"

He looked at me, his eyebrows knitting together, wearing an expression I had seen quite often on Steve's face. "Harry Potter?"

I laughed again, letting a smile cross my features. "This is just like a scene in the book."

My dad nodded, looking around the room. "Well, what choice did this Harry Potter make?"

I folded my hands in my lap and glanced around the living room. I noticed the height chart on the doorframe in the kitchen, the same one I had noticed when Loki held me captive. I had always wanted to have one of those for when I had kids, so that they could look back on it in twenty years and remember when they were little. Steve would like that.

"Can I see them?" Even as I asked it, I wasn't sure who I was referring to—my family or Steve.

"I'm sorry, baby." My dad said, standing up and brushing his hands off on his pants. "This is a choice you have to make with your heart." He started to walk to the door, but I stood up and caught his arm.

"I love you, Daddy," I whispered as I pulled him into a hug. He rubbed my back and chuckled into his hair.

"I love you too, baby. I'll be watching." With that, he offered me one last smile and walked out the door, disappearing into thin air.

I walked back into the house, looking around. I breathed out a sigh and made my way up the stairs. I walked into the first bedroom—the one Dylan and Richie had shared growing up. The room was a mess, just as I had always remembered it. The two twin beds were pushed against opposing walls, each with a window over the headboard. The wooden dresser in-between them had the faded baseball knobs that Dylan had cried for. There were Red Sox and Patriots posters littering the walls, and both of the boys' baseball bags were hanging over the footboards of their beds.

I could go see them, if I wanted. I could leave my humanly life behind and go and be with them. It was what I had always wanted. I could go watch the boys play baseball, cook dinner with my mom, do yard work with my dad. We'd be the family I had always wanted us to be.

I walked out of their bedroom into the next one, my parent's room. The large wooden bed, the tall dresser—it was all the same. I had crawled into this bed so many nights as a toddler, afraid of the monsters under my bed, and my mom would pull me close and tell me everything would be alright. There had always been room for me, because my dad had usually been in the hospital. My mom had slept alone in this room for so many years, but never once complained about being a single parent after my father's passing. If I chose to go be with them, we'd be the family I had always prayed for us to be.

I walked into my room last. Like all the others, I was shocked at how it was exactly as I remembered it. My bed pushed against the far wall in the corner. The Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC posters covering the walls. College textbooks littering the floor. The dorky pink and orange lava lamp on the nightstand. I picked a photo album up from under my bed and sat down to flip through it. Inside were the family photos from the few trips to Disney World I had gone on with my mom and brothers. If I chose to go be with them, we'd be the family we once were.

But looking through the pictures, my thoughts flickered to the wedding I wanted to plan with Steve.

My whole life, all I wanted was to be with my family. I had missed them with all my heart every single day since they left me. They plagued my thoughts nearly everyday. I could never be truly happy, because I refused to let them go.

With Steve, however, I had.

Steve had made me realize that I could be happy again—that it was ok for me to move on and continue to live my life. He had given me the purpose that I had been missing for so long.

Did he miss me right now? I'm sure he did. He was probably worried sick. Did he think I was dead? God, how could I cause him so much pain?

I hung my head in my hands, unsure of what to do. Why was I given this choice? Were all people given this choice? Was this simply the process every person went through when they died? It couldn't be. My brothers wouldn't have chosen to die. Why was I given this opportunity? I hated being in this position. Couldn't my fate have just been decided for me, like I always figured it would be?

There had been so many nights that I spent in this room, crying my eyes out, wondering why everyone hated me. I had been so alone growing up. I'd been dumped, excluded, despised. And now, I was being forced to choose between the only people who had ever truly loved me.

Was I ready to die?

I stood up and walked over to my dresser, where a few pictures were placed in frames. There was one of me and my brothers, my parents, and my high school graduation. I had shown a copy of the one of my brothers and I at Dylan's eighth grade graduation to Steve. He had told me I looked just like little Richie.

Steve.

My mom, Dylan, and Richie.

I took a deep breath, looking around the room once more, and realized I knew what I had to choose—what I _wanted _to choose. I had known this whole time. There hadn't even really been a choice in the first place. I think even my dad knew that.

I wrung my hands, walking back down the stairs through the kitchen. I ran my hand along the counter, across the growth chart, the back of the crappy television. I made my way to the door, gripping the knob in my hand, and took one last glance in the house.

I smiled—a true, genuine smile—and pulled the door open and stepped onto the porch. I looked up to the sky, thanking whoever was watching over me for giving me this choice, and took the steps down off the porch.

It was time to go home.

**A/N: So guys while writing this I was listening to the Avengers theme and it made for an epic feeling. I strongly request doing it. Hope you guys liked this chapter.**


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the delay, if you saw from the Tumblr updates, it's been a crazy couple of days. I'd just like to give a shoutout to the few of you followers who consistently talk to me. The guest reviewer, Elinor Potter, the anon from Tumblr, and my friend Accio (HAHAHAHA), you guys keep me going. And also I read The Fault in our Stars by John Green in less than six hours and it was so good and you should all go read it. But I'll shut up now and give you the chapter. **

I felt like I was falling.

Or flying.

Floating?

Whatever I was doing, it was in this abyss of nothingness. I was coasting towards my destiny, not entirely sure what would happen when I touched down. What if whoever was sending me home hadn't heard my choice? What if I ended up in the wrong place?

There was a chorus of voices in the background, calling my name, whispering encouragements. I could make out my mom telling me to hold on, Steve mumbling my name, my father saying he loved me—but I could reach none of them. I was bodiless, sinking down farther and farther, praying I made it to the right destination.

And suddenly, it stopped.

I came back into consciousness with a thud, like I had been thrown against a wall. I could feel my head snap forward, the air rushing out of my lungs. My senses were slowly coming to me, and the first thing I could make out was a rush of electronic beeps somewhere near my head. Then slowly, the shouting started to come into focus. It was a myriad of voices. They all seemed important to me, but I couldn't place my finger on it. They started to get clearer and clearer, until…

"SOMEONE GET HER HOOKED UP TO THAT _NOW!" _Bruce shouted, and despite the pain starting to creep through my body, it calmed me, knowing someone I loved was there. I was starting to regain feeling in my body, but it wasn't pleasant—it was rather excruciating. Everything hurt, and not the dull, throbbing pain you get when you fall. It was a fierce, agonizing fire, spreading through my veins like poison. Which, when I started to remember what was happening to me, was exactly what it was. Jesus Christ, it hurt. Was it even worth fighting it? What if I just sank back down into the darkness and went to my family?

But then I heard him.

It wasn't exactly a scream. It was more of a cry, a sob. His voice rung out clearly over the shouts of the doctors and sirens. He sounded hurt, broken. How could I give up when he so clearly needed me?

"_**BECKY!"**_

Was someone holding him back? He sounded so far away. I needed him, needed him _here. _He was supposed to be holding my hand, touching my face, begging me to come back to him. But God, it just hurt _so _much. What if I didn't make it? He _needed _me! But right now, _I needed him! _

"St-eve," I choked out. It was barely a whisper—I nearly couldn't hear myself. But someone must have, because I heard a woman's voice yell out, "She's asking for him! Get him over here, we're running out of options!"

And suddenly I heard the footsteps pounding against the floor, his shrieks, and then his hand was on my face, in my hair, holding my hand. "Becky, goddammit, please, just _come back to me, _I can't do this without you, Beck, _I need you, _please, just hold on, Becky, _**you need to fight this."**_

Wait, was I supposed to be doing something?

I wasn't even fully in my _body _right now, how the hell was I supposed to fight this? Couldn't someone just tell me what I was supposed to do?

"Becky, _please," _Steve persisted, constantly yelling at me above my head, but I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes.

"Becky, I need you to breathe in and out, I know it all hurts, Becky, but you need to be taking deep breaths for this procedure to work. Becky, I need you to breathe, I'm gonna sit you up, but I _need you to breathe." _Bruce was shouting at me, and I felt whatever I was laying on start to lift up beneath my head until I was in a sitting position. Finally, someone giving me some direction on how to get out of this void. But, oh Jesus, my chest just hurt. It felt as if someone had sat down on top of my lungs and was expecting me to be able to breathe regularly.

"Becky, _I love you, _please, please just breathe."

And so I did.

I could hear Bruce cheer and a doctor clap off in the distance, as the beeping in the room slowed down the slightest. Steve released another sob, and he spoke again. "Becky honey, please, just keep going, you can do this."

So I breathed again.

Was there something covering my mouth? It felt like the air was sick, and I could almost make out some pressure around the bottom half of my face. Wait, wait, I was supposed to be doing something.

I breathed in, and breathed out.

Another sigh/sob of relief from Steve. Another "I love you Becky, you can do this."

In, out.

The beeping slowed down even more.

In, out.

Bruce: "Almost there, Beck, keep going."

In, out.

God, it hurt so much. There was definitely something covering my mouth and nose. It was releasing something thick, which was what I was breathing in. That was why it was so hard—I probably couldn't even breathe in regular air right now, let alone this stuff.

In, out.

Suddenly, another voice. Sounding very much like he was trying to hold back tears. "God, kiddo, c'mon. You're nearly there." Tony.

In, out.

Was there…was there something in my arm, too? There was pressure in the crook of my arm. An IV, probably. That would make sense. But still, wasn't I supposed to be dead? I shouldn't have survived this-we knew this all along.

In, out.

But I hadn't survived it yet. I might not—if breathing continued to be as hard was it was right now.

In, out.

"Alright, now get that IV hooked up to her other arm, we're nearly there, this just has to work." Tony. I felt hands on the arm that was bare, the one that I could make out Steve's hand in mine. A little bit of pressure, then the inside of my arm felt cold.

In, out.

The chill spread through me, up my arm and down throughout my entire body. It was unnaturally fast, and made me shiver. Steve squeezed my hand. "God, please let this work."

In, out.

The fire in me was being dulled by this new, icy substance flowing through my veins. It felt kinda good, but still made me want a sweater. If I could find the strength to open my mouth, I would.

In, out.

"It's working! It's working!" Bruce. But it didn't feel like it was working. I still felt like I was drowning. "We're almost there, Becky, I know you can do this." Shit, how did _he _know I could do this? I was still pretty sure I couldn't.

"Becky, please baby." Steve. I had to be able to do this. If not for myself, for him.

In, out.

They kept saying I was 'nearly there,' but what the hell was _there? _Consciousness? Because it seemed really damn far away. Ugh. Fuck this.

In, out.

"H-Hey kiddo. Do—do you think you could try opening your eyes? Are you strong enough for that?" I could practically picture Tony in my head. Standing just off to the side, one arm across his chest, the other balanced on top of it, his fingers resting on his lips. His eyes were probably glued to whatever monitors I was hooked up to.

I struggled to slide my eyelids open. They seemed so heavy.

I got them half-open, my eyes meeting Steve's.

In, out.

His face was covered in tears. His eyes pored into mine, a mixture of heartbreak and joy at seeing me awake. One of his hands reached up to cup my cheek, and he breathed out another sob. "Becky sweetheart, you're doing so good. Just have to keep breathing. Keep breathing."

In, out.

"Good job, Becky. I think she's about stable." Bruce gave me a reassuring smile, nodding at me from over the monitor in front of him.

_Stable? __**Stable?! **_If this was how my life was going to be the rest of my life, just let me go now, please.

"Gotta keep breathing, kiddo. You're body's not doing it on it's own right now, so you have to keep manually doing it." Tony reached forward, adjusting the facemask that I could now barely see covering my nose and mouth. I nodded slightly, earning a grin from everyone.

In, out.

This was getting rather tedious.

"When," I breathed out, and everybody's eyes snapped to mine. "Will…I…be…able…to…breathe…normally?" I had to pause to gasp in between each word.

In, out.

Steve chuckled, his eyes crinkling at the sound of my voice. "Soon, honey, soon. You are so strong."

I nodded, my eyes fluttering closed from the effort. I was completely exhausted.

In, out.

"What…happened?"

The three men standing over me looked at each other and paused for a longer than expected period of time.

"I don't think right now is the time, sweetheart. When you're stronger," Steve insisted, but Tony shook his head.

"C'mon, we can't keep protecting her, kid deserves to know."

Bruce was the one who stood firm against the two of them, giving them a stern look. "Not now. I doubt she'd even remember it." I tried to turn my head to my best friend, to give him a scolding glare, but I didn't quite have the energy just yet. Shit, wait, I'm supposed to be breathing.

In, out.

"Stop, we're distracting her. She needs to keep breathing," Steve said, squeezing my hand again. "We'll talk about it later, sweetheart."

I sighed and blinked my eyes, a little frustrated, but I had a much more important task to be focused on right now.

In, out.

Steve leaned forward, a small smile lighting up his tear-stained face. "I'm so proud of you, sweetheart. You're the bravest soldier I know."

"How…long?"

In, out.

"The incident was just yesterday. We got you back here as soon as we could. Bruce and Tony have been working on a cure for you for awhile now, they just didn't tell you, in case it didn't work."

Bruce walked over, taking his glasses off his face and putting them in his shirt pocket. "We decided to develop it as soon as we found out that stuff could kill you. Just in case. Tony was the one who came up with it, in the end."

My eyes flickered over to Tony, who gave a small smile, but rolled his eyes regardless. "Yeah, yeah. It _was _pretty brilliant of me. One of my finest works yet."

"Breathe," Steve whispered. Oh, right.

In, out.

"Baby?" I asked, starting to feel a little stronger.

"Yeah, sweetheart?" Steve asked, squeezing my hand again.

"No…Howard."

Tony smiled, giving a light chuckle. "Only a day old and already a badass, I can tell. He'll grow up to be quite the hotshot."

"Like…his…dad." I smiled up at Tony, and all the boys chuckled.

"Oh, shut up and breathe," Tony said, and I smiled, fully, for the first time since I woke up.

In, out.

"Loki?"

"Becky, honey, really, I don't think now's the time—" Steve started again, but I pushed myself to sit up completely straight and stared at him hard.

"I want to know." Finally, a complete sentence.

Bruce and Steve looked over to Tony, who shrugged his shoulders. "I hurt him. Pretty badly. Damn bastard deserved it. He," Tony cleared his throat, trying to keep his cool. "He almost took you from us. I should've killed the ass. But he wouldn't wake up. Thor took him back to Ass-whatever. We haven't heard anything."

I looked at Tony, taking this all in, before the corner of my mouth twitched up. "He deserved a whole…lot…worse." Shit, out of breath.

In, out.

"Honey, you gotta keep focusing on breathing."

"I mean, I know I take your breath away kiddo, but after I did all that for you, I expect to at least live long enough to see my kid start bossing you around," Tony said, causing me to chuckle. First true laugh since I woke up.

In, out.

"Alright, I gotta head back to Pepper. She normally would've torn my head off, leaving her with my spawn, but this was special circumstance. You know she would've come, kiddo, but she did just push a child out of her uterus."

Steve cringed, and I laughed once again. "Tell her I said hi, and that I want to come see the baby soon."

In, out.

Tony nodded, hesitating a moment before leaning down and kissing the side of my head, which made me smile. "You know as much as I pester you, I love you, kiddo."

I smiled up at him, the man who had become my father, and laughed. "I love you, too. Now get out of here."

Tony smiled, nodding at both Bruce and Steve, before walking out of the room.

In, out.

"You tired?" Bruce asked, and I nodded, feeling my body pulling me towards sleep. "Alright, I'm gonna hook you up to this," he said, patting the high-tech looking box by his side that even I had no idea what it was. "It'll make sure you keep breathing while you sleep. You should be able to do it on your own."

I nodded, Bruce hooking a second tube into the facemask I had on. He hesitated before leaving, like Tony did, and also leaned down to kiss my forehead. "Don't ever scare me like that again, ok?"

In, out.

I smiled up at him, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. "I promise. I love you. Thank you for everything."

Bruce grinned, squeezing my hand back. "I love you, too. I'll be back to check on you." With that, he nodded at Steve, and left the two of us alone.

"Go to sleep, sweetheart." I lay back against the bed, letting my eyes slip close.

"I love you so much."

I squeezed Steve's hand one last time, feeling sleep pull me down.

"I love you, too."

And at that moment, I knew I had made the right choice.

In, out.

**A/N: Guys, I don't know about you, but I really loved how this chapter turned out. And I usually don't **_**love **_**chapters, but I'm just really happy with this one. I hope you guys all liked it. We really are closing in on the end. Probably about three more chapters, give or take. Then I am definitely doing a collection of one-shots based off these stories, showing Becky and Steve's future. I hope you guys are ok with that. Love you all!**


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N: I know. Trust me, I know. It's been so long. I've been so busy, and I know I say that every time, but I truly was. School also started, so it will continue to be difficult to update as quickly as I used to. I was so touched by all the praise for the last chapter—I really loved it, and it meant a lot that you all did too. Thanks guys, as always. **

I woke up in the same hospital room I had been in before. I was still hooked up to nearly a hundred machines (and yes, that was an exaggeration) but my breathing seemed to be back to normal. My head felt heavy on my shoulders, but I felt a hand holding mine. I smiled, my eye's opening to find Steve's head rested against my arm. I brought my free hand up to let my fingers run through his blonde locks, which were looking rather disheveled today. Steve liked to run his hands through his hair when he was stressed out…and that was most likely my fault right now.

A low groan rumbled from Steve's throat, and he stirred, slowly picking his head up from my arm and looking around in confusion. "Hey sweetie," I whispered, and his eyes snapped up to meet mine.

"You're awake," he replied, his voice gravelly from sleep.

"Was I out long again?"

Steve rubbed his eyes, letting out a yawn, before nodding with his eyes closed. "It's been nearly a day. How are you feeling?"

I nodded, mainly to myself. "Good, I think. My breathing's a lot better. And there isn't much pain. I'm just pretty tired."

Steve quirked an eyebrow, a smile playing on his lips. "How are you _still _tired? You slept nearly an entire day."

"Oh, you have room to talk." Steve burst out laughing and I chuckled alongside him.

"I missed you so much." Wow, Steve, way to break my heart.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I never meant for—"

"What are you apologizing for?" Steve interrupted, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "You didn't do this. _Loki _did. None of this was your fault. You take as long as you need to get better. I'll always be right here."

I sighed, thinking of my choice between my family and Steve. "No, honey, you don't understand…I was…when I was out…something…_happened."_

"What do you mean?" Steve asked, clearly not understanding a word I was saying. How the hell do I put this into words?

"I was…_suspended…_in this like, in-between. I was in this field, and I was at my house, and I thought I was all alone, and then—"

"Becky, honey, slow down," Steve said, grabbing my hand. I realized I was out of breath and paused, heaving air back into my lungs. "Now what happened?"

"I went into my old house…and my dad was there."

Steve breathed in deeply, his eyes poring into mine. "Becky, sweetheart, you know that can't be possible—"

"Because he's dead, I know." Steve froze, thinking he had offended me, until I continued. "But I think I was dead, too."

Steve's eyes went wide, taking in what I had said. After a few moments, of all things, anger seemed to overtake his features. "You weren't _dead, _Becky. God, don't _say _things like that. You weren't dead. You _weren't._"

I paused, stunned at the venom in his voice. "Steve, I didn't mean to offend you, I was just trying to explain—"

"I know, Becky, but…god, don't say things like that. If you died…and I didn't stop it…" Steve's anger melted away, and he looked…_broken._

"Steve, there is no possible way that you can stop me from dying. Someday, it will happen. It isn't your job to protect me."

Steve's head snapped back, his mouth falling in shock. "Yes it is! Can't you see that? It _is _my job." Steve seemed so frazzled. I swear, that man could get worked up over everything. You would never see it on the outside, but Steve really _did _have the weight of the world on his shoulders. He felt responsible for absolutely everything—things that didn't even relate to him.

"You know," I began, grabbing my fiancé's hand, trying to calm him down. "You put too much pressure on yourself."

Steve sighed, leaning forward and burying his face into my side. I ran my hand absentmindedly through his hair and up and down his back. "And even though I don't think you should…I appreciate it. That you feel like you need to protect me, I mean. I haven't had someone like that in a long time."

Steve picked his head up, looking me in the eye, and reached a hand up to cup my cheek. "I love you."

I smiled, leaning forward to give him a kiss. "I love you, too."

Steve gave me another pained smile, and then leaned forward again, falling asleep on my arm within a few minutes.

Seeing Steve there, snoozing against my arm, I did truly feel bad. As much as I was exhausted, Steve was probably even worse. I doubt he had slept since I had been attacked—probably hadn't even eaten. Steve worried more than a female watching the season finale of her favorite show.

As much as all of this made me concerned for his well being, the selfish part of me couldn't help but feel a bit pleased. I had a man that would do _anything _for me.

I had definitely made the right choice.

* * *

"I don't understand why I can't go see her. I'm _fine." _After Steve had woken up, Bruce came in to check on me and I asked if I could go see Pepper and the baby. The men immediately shouted their disapproval of the idea, which I found rather ridiculous.

"Becky, _you just nearly died in front of me. _I am _not _letting you leave this room until I'm absolutely positive you will be ok in the future," Bruce replied, to which I rolled my eyes.

"Not a good enough reason. I'm completely ok. Your cure worked, as everyone believed it would," I fought back.

"Rebecca, the only people who even _knew _about the cure were Tony and I, making your argument invalid."

"Bruce, that was one of the most minor plot points in my debate, so it is very much so still _valid."_

"Could you both speak English, please?" Steve interjected. I rolled my eyes at him, but still patted the back of his hand. Even the most minor of things could still confuse him. Damn him for being cute. "Whatever language you're speaking, you're still not going."

"She's in the same _freaking _med ward! She's probably only a couple hallways down!" I paused, thinking about her location, then noticed the hospital room did not look like the ones I would be working in on the helicarrier. "Actually, wait…where am I?"

"Sweetheart, we're in Stark Tower," Steve said, worrying marring all his features. He grabbed my hand, leaning forward to really look at me.

"Oh, right," I said, looking around and noticing the familiar touches to the room. After getting rid of Loki, it was only logical we would go back home.

"This is exactly why you're not leaving yet, Beck. You don't even know where you are!" Bruce shouted, and I rolled my eyes at him again. "You're eyes are gonna get stuck like that, young lady."

"Young lady, my ass," I responded, to which he chuckled, while Steve looked absolutely shocked. He never really enjoyed hearing a woman curse. "I was just surprised, last place I was in was the helicarrier. When I was being held hostage, I mean."

Both men visibly cringed, and I immediately felt bad for my harsh words. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. That was mean." Both of them gave me that horrible half-smile you give when you're still hurt, but want to make the other person feel better. Great job, Becky. "I'm really sorry."

"It's alright. But you're still not going." Bruce seemed to think for a second, and then tried to play it off like he was just checking my monitor.

"What?" I asked, and he just shook his head and ignored me. He held up a finger, signaling one second, then walked out of the room.

"Steve, you gotta get me out of here," I begged, giving him the puppy dog eyes I knew would kill him.

"Oh, Becky, don't give me that," he said, pointing frantically at my face. I could see his resolve breaking by the second. "Rebecca Andrews, you stop that right now, so help me God."

"STEVE PLEASE I'M GONNA DIE IN HERE!" And of course, my jokingly exaggerated statement made Steve shrink back in pain. "Oh, honey, you know it's just an expression, I'm sorry, that was so stupid—"

"No, it's fine, I'm just kinda…touchy about it right now," he immediately responded, taking my hand. I'd have to be careful what I said around him. He was obviously still really hurting from me being held hostage and when I had said I died. Only Steve.

Before our conversation could go any farter, I heard the smallest cry, and a smile split my face.

Bruce rolled in Pepper, who was sitting in a wheelchair, holding an itty-bitty baby, Tony following close behind.

"God damn you, Becky!" Pepper said, immediately trying to push herself out of her chair. Tony and Bruce immediately stepped into action, forcing her to sit.

"What is it with you women and not doing what you're told?" Bruce asked, shaking his head. He pushed Pepper all the way up next to my bed so that her knees were bumping the edge. With her hand not holding the baby, she reached out to grab mine.

"I let you out of my sight after having my baby for 10 MINUTES, and you get kidnapped by a psycho god? Is this a joke?!" Pepper exclaimed, shaking her head at me.

"Sorry. Hopefully it won't become a habit," I replied, smiling at her. She chuckled in response, her anger fading away. "How's my godson?"

She smiled down at her baby before looking to Tony. "Hand him to her?" Her husband immediately stepped over, picking up the baby and giving him a smile before gingerly placing him down in my arms.

"Thanks, big daddy," I said as he stepped aside.

"Call me that again and you'll be out of a job," he immediately responded and I laughed again.

I looked down at Howard, poking his tummy and making him smile. "So, I thought you were an atheist?" I asked, looking up to the baby's father.

Tony shrugged, looking over at Pepper. "I was, but Pepper's Catholic, so we'll have him baptized."

Steve stood up to look over my shoulder, holding the back of the baby's head. "As soon as you're better, we'd like to have the christening," Pepper said, ever the secretary.

I nodded, only half hearing her. The baby had offered Steve and I a big smile, and both of us couldn't help but laugh. He was pale, like Pepper, with blue eyes and dark hair, like his dad. "He looks like his grandfather," Steve whispered, but Tony caught it. He smiled, stepping closer to look at his son, and offered the smallest genuine smile ever seen on Tony Stark's face.

"Thanks Cap," he whispered in response.

I looked at Pepper, who smiled at me, and I couldn't help but grin at the small show of friendship. I had known Steve and Tony were friends, but in the typical way men were—never kind, always joking around. Tony wasn't the type to be sentimental, but the moment shared between the two friends was something to marvel at. Just that little smile revealed so much into who Tony Stark truly was. And yes, I nearly teared up, just at that.

I looked up, seeing Pepper holding my hand, Steve leaning his head on my shoulder, and Tony sitting by my side, and couldn't help but grin. "You are going to have the best family ever, Howard," I whispered.

**A/N: Once again, so sorry for the ultra long wait. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I thought it was pretty cute. One more chapter of the actual story, then a great big wedding epilogue, and then that'll be it. I also saw Avengers today, seeing as it was rereleased in my theater, and it was incredible.**


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N: I'm not even gonna feed you the excuses, even though they are legitimate. I am extremely sorry for taking so long. It's been so busy. I love you all for being so patient though, and even when you were upset with me for not posting, you were extremely kind. I love you guys so much, you truly are the best followers in the world. And without further ado, I give you the last chapter of An Old Fashioned Notion. (But don't worry, there's still a wedding to come!)**

"Steve, are you sure this looks alright?" I asked, walking out of our closet in a black pencil skirt and a baby blue blouse. With my heels on, I nearly came to Steve's chin.

"You look stunning," he replied automatically, fixing his tie while looking at his reflection in the mirror.

"You didn't even look!" I shouted, my hands on my hips and turning him around to help him get the knot right. Even though he had been in the army, tying a tie was still a weak point for the man.

"You always look gorgeous," my fiancé answered. I rolled my eyes, smoothing down his tie and pulling his suit jacket tight, straightening the lapels.

"People would gag if they knew how corny you were all the time," I yelled over my shoulder, picking up my purse out of the closet.

"You can't pretend like you don't appreciate it!" he responded from the kitchen, and I laughed out loud, shaking my head.

It had been nearly a month since the incident with Loki. My recovery had been slow and drawn out, but after about two weeks, Bruce finally agreed to letting me go home under the strict supervision of Steve, and periodic checks from himself and Tony.

There had been a quite a few worries on what a true "recovery" would be. Bruce had been afraid that I would have severe head pains for the rest of my life. Tony, for a short time, was worried I was going to be paralyzed. The biggest fear, however, was that I would lose my healing ability.

The two "science bros," as Tony referred to themselves as, had been testing this extensively. Everyday I was brought people with different injuries and was forced to heal them. The first few days of this, it had been extremely difficult. Sometimes, the patients would leave just as ill as they had when they walked in. Other times, it would be a very slow healing process. But as the days turned into weeks, I slowly regained my strength, and was back in tip-top shape.

No one is entirely sure how or why I recuperated so well. A few short weeks before this whole incident, all of us were certain that if I were ever to come in contact with the Tesseract again, that would be it for me. Yes, Bruce and Tony's cure had worked wonders, but not even they had expected such stunning results. Their cure was merely a way to keep me alive and functioning—it was deemed impossible for me to return back to the way I was. Yet, here I was, happier and healthier than ever. I think I may have had my father to thank for that.

"Are you feeling ok?" Steve asked, worry lacing his tone. I'd heard that panic much too often lately. "If you're not feeling up to this then—"

"Steve, honey, I'm fine," I insisted, walking over to him and rubbing his arms. "I was just thinking. Let's go."

Steve, as you can guess, had been extremely close to an overbearing mother in the past month. He never left my side for more than a few minutes, and only left the house to run to the store a few blocks away. He rarely let me stand for more than a few minutes and had not once let me leave the house. I had frequent visitors, of course, but Steve was constantly there, breathing down my neck.

His concern was sweet, of course, but he had begun to treat me like a glass doll—one more crack, and I'd disappear before his very eyes. I knew it was hard for him—he'd lost so many people, people he believed he could have saved, and watching me before him, so easily breakable, could not have been easy. Sometimes, when he had thought I was sleeping, he spoke to me, thinking I couldn't hear him. He would tell me stories of Bucky, Peggy, and Howard. On my not-so-good days, they were more somber—begging me to stay with him, how much he wanted to plan a wedding, how he couldn't go through "this" again. It hurt, knowing I was unconsciously doing this to him. I don't know how he put up with me after everything I had put him through. I was a lucky woman.

"I'm a little nervous about this," Steve whispered as he drove us over to the cathedral. I held his hand tightly, giving him a little squeeze, and silently chuckled.

"You have nothing to worry about. You're going to be an incredible godfather. The baby already loves you." And that was true—Tony and Pepper came to visit us rather frequently with little Howard, and he absolutely adored Steve. As soon as he was passed into his soon-to-be godfather's arms, he broke out into a smile.

"But I have to be a good example for him. There's so many people out there who would be a better role model for him," Steve persisted as he pulled into the parking lot. He had to show his ID to a security guard and was then allowed to park near the doors.

"No, there's really not, honey," I insisted, reaching my hand up to cup his cheek and turn him to look at me before we got out of the card. "You are the most incredible man I have ever known, and Howard will be lucky to have you to look up to." The corner of his mouth turned up into a crooked smile, and I leaned forward to kiss him before getting out of the car.

We walked through a side entrance of the cathedral, seeing as the paparazzi had overflowed the front doors, and found the church to be surprisingly empty. Despite the loud cheers outside, it was eerily quiet, with only a few rows towards the front holding people. I could make out Pepper and Tony at the front, holding my future godson, with a priest standing beside them. As we walked towards the front, I could make out Bruce, Happy, Rhodey, and what must be some of Pepper's family, easily distinguishable with their red hair.

"Wow, Tony, I don't think I've ever seen you throw this small a party. Losing your touch?" I commented, making the few people aware of our presence.

"You're late, Rogers family. Decided to keep my son waiting? Not starting off as the best godparents," Tony remarked, smirking at the two of us.

"It's still Andrews, thank you very much, but I'm never late—everyone else was just early. I'm teaching him valuable life lessons."

"You two, don't start already, let's make today a good day," Pepper insisted, giving me a glare. I chuckled, grabbing Steve's hand and sitting down in the front pew with him.

The service was like any other Baptism you would attend—which surprised me, seeing as it was for Tony Stark's son. I was impressed with him—it was clear the man had matured in the past year. The way he looked at his son, and even only inviting the people who mattered most to him—it showed how much he had grown as a person. Even though he would never believe it, he would be another fantastic role model for his baby boy.

As Steve and I stood with the priest, holding Howard, I was truly in awe. Steve was so good with him and as nervous as I knew he was, I could tell how proud he was in this moment. After feeling so alone for so long, I knew today he realized just how loved he was. As much as Tony poked and prodded him, he had chosen Steve (and myself, of course) out of everyone he knew to help in raising his son—and that meant the world to Steve. He had a fiancé, a best friend, and a baby who adored him.

After the Christening, Bruce, Pepper, Tony, Steve, and I went back to Stark Tower for a lunch Pepper had planned. The baby had fallen asleep in the car ride back, so only the adults were left.

"So, now that you're feeling all better, are you finally going to plan a wedding?" Pepper asked, taking a sip from a glass of wine, even though it was only the early afternoon.

I grinned, looking up over to Steve, and nodded. "Yeah, I think so." I actually giggled, amazed at the idea that now, it could finally happen—I would really be marrying Captain America.

"Have anything you know you want to do?" Bruce asked, even though I knew he was just pretending to be interested for my sake. He knew I loved to talk about it.

I laughed, hearing Steve's constant push for a certain location in my head. "Someone's a little dead-set on Disney World," I answered, rolling my eyes at my fiancé. "Not that I mind."

Pepper smiled, clapping her hands together. "That's so romantic! We'll have to start planning it soon, you know how quickly it gets booked up there, and we'll have to start looking for a dress—"

"Pepper!" I said, chuckling at how excited she was. "Slow, we've still got time."

Tony rolled his eyes, clapping Steve on the shoulder. "Good luck, soldier. You're about to be put through the worst hell of your life."

"Excuse me?!" Pepper asked, rather sassily, raising her eyebrows at her husband. "I did all the work!"

"Incorrect. You did 12% of the work." Tony smiled and Pepper just shook her head, leaving us all confused again at the inside joke.

"So," Bruce began as silence fell around the room. He leaned onto the counter, his arms crossed underneath him, and looked at each of us. "What do we do now?"

Nobody answered and simply stared at each other, waiting for someone to answer. "You're not leaving, are you?" I asked, merely above a whisper.

Bruce looked at me, and then his eyes flicked to Tony. "No," he answered rather slowly. "No, I think I'm going to stay."

I smiled and gave him a nod, silence falling upon us once again. "I don't…I don't really know how things go back to normal," I said, earning the stares of everyone. "Honestly, I don't really remember what normal _is _anymore."

Steve glanced at me and then took a deep breath. "Well, whatever normal _was…_I don't think I want it back. We're a team now. All of us. You, me, Pepper, Tony, Bruce, Thor, Clint, Natasha, Nick, even Howard…we're part of each other's lives now, and I don't think we can change that—and I don't want it to change."

"You know, for once…" Tony began, offering what almost looked like a smile, "I think I agree with the old man."

We were a time bomb, as Bruce had once put it. We were a combination of misfits and outcasts who would implode when put together. We would cause chaos and wreak havoc if let loose. We were not meant to be a team.

But we were. We had been brought together all those years ago and forced to work together—like trying to put two pieces of a different puzzle together. We weren't a perfect match at all—but we molded and changed ourselves, each of us learning from the others, and formed an overwhelming force that was more than just a team. We were a family—and we were truly unstoppable.

Steve was right—whatever "normal" had once been, it was unachievable—and yet, I didn't want it back in the slightest. I had grown into a completely new person, and was truly proud of who I came to be.

My name is Rebecca Andrews. I am 31 years old and live in New York City. I have the best job in the world and am surrounded by some of the most incredible people the world has ever seen. I am a healer, an orphan, a doctor, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a godparent, and a fiancé. But most of all, I am an Avenger.

**A/N: Wow. I can't believe I'm crying. I can't believe this is it. Now don't worry, I'm going to write you a wonderful epilogue all about a wonderful wedding. If you have not heard, I also plan on doing a collection of one-shots on Becky and Steve's future together—so not, this is not our goodbye. I love you so much for coming on this journey with me, and I can't thank you all enough. I hope you've enjoyed this story, and I can't wait to hear what you all think. Love you all.**


End file.
